Related papers: Molecular Structures and Strength-Toughness of Sil…
Understanding, predicting and eventually improving the resistance to fracture of silicate materials is of primary importance to design new glasses that would be tougher, while retaining their transparency. However, the atomic mechanism of…
We use molecular dynamics computer simulations to study the equilibrium properties of the surface of amorphous silica. Two types of geometries are investigated: i) clusters with different diameters (13.5\AA, 19\AA, and 26.5\AA) and ii) a…
Amorphous silica ($a-SiO_2$) is a widely used inorganic material. Interestingly, the relationship between the local atomic structures of $a-SiO_2$ and their effects on ductility and fracture is seldom explored. Here, we combine large-scale…
Using molecular dynamics simulations, with a realistic many-body embedded-atom potential, and a novel method to characterize local order, we study the structure of pure nickel during the rapid quench of the liquid and in the resulting…
The difference between free surface energy and fracture toughness in amorphous silica is studied via multi-scale simulations. We combine the homogenization of a molecular dynamics fracture model with a phase-field approach to track and…
The structural and dynamic properties of silica melts under high pressure are studied using molecular dynamics (MD) computer simulation. The interactions between the ions are modeled by a pairwise-additive potential, the so-called CHIK…
Amorphous silicon (a-Si) is a widely studied non-crystalline material, and yet the subtle details of its atomistic structure are still unclear. Here, we show that accurate structural models of a-Si can be obtained by harnessing the power of…
Rings comprising chemically bonded atoms are essential topological motifs for the structural ordering of network-forming materials. Quantification of such larger motifs beyond short-range pair correlation is essential for understanding the…
Characteristic shock effects in silica serve as a key indicator of historical impacts at geological sites. Despite this geological significance, atomistic details of structural transformations under high pressure and shock compression…
Silica-carbonate biomorphs are a class of emergent materials, i.e. composite microstructures made of nanometric carbonate crystallites surrounded by amorphous silica. They form via a co-precipitation process in an interplay between alkaline…
Based on first-principles calculation we predict two new thermodynamically stable layered-phases of silicon, named as silicites, which exhibit strong directionality in the electronic and structural properties. As compared to silicon…
The multidimensional topography of the collective potential energy function of a so-called strong glass former (silica) is analyzed by means of classical molecular dynamics calculations. Features qualitatively similar to those of fragile…
Molecular dynamics computer simulations are used to investigate a silica melt confined between walls at equilibrium and in a steady-state Poisseuille flow. The walls consist of point particles forming a rigid face-centered cubic lattice and…
This paper presents a set of general strategies for the analysis of structure in amorphous materials and a general approach to assessing the utility of a selected structural description. Measures of structural diversity and utility are…
We have adapted classical molecular dynamics to study the structural and dynamical properties of amorphous silica surfaces. Concerning the structure, the density profile exhibits oscillations perpendicularly to the surface as observed in…
Spatial ordering of matter elicits exotic properties sometimes absent from a material's constituents. A few highly mineralised natural materials achieve high toughness through delocalised damage, whereas synthetic particulate composites…
This work purports to help understand the InterStellar Extinction Curve in and near the visible range. In this range, crystalline materials are known to be transparent, so amorphous dust is needed. Molecular modeling experiments are used to…
Molecular crystals often exist in multiple competing polymorphs, showing significantly different physico-chemical properties. Computational crystal structure prediction is key to interpret and guide the search for the most stable or useful…
A structural order parameter for disordered configurations is defined, based, not on local topologies, but on the degree of local restraint imposed on each atom. This restraint parameter provides a clear distinction between a strong liquid…
It is now well established that materials are stronger when their dimensions are reduced to submicron scale. However, what happens at dimensions such as a few tens of nanometers or lower remains largely unknown, with conflicting reports on…