Probe Type II Band Alignment in One-Dimensional Van Der Waals Heterostructures Using First-Principles Calculations.

Computational tools based on density-functional theory (DFT) enable the exploration of the qualitatively new, experimentally attainable nanoscale compounds for a targeted application. Theoretical simulations provide a profound understanding of the intrinsic electronic properties of functional materials. The goal of this protocol is to search for photocatalyst candidates by computational dissection. Photocatalytic applications require suitable band gaps, appropriate band edge positions relative to the redox potentials. Hybrid functionals can provide accurate values of these properties but are computationally expensive, whereas the results at the Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (PBE) functional level could be effective for suggesting strategies for band structure engineering via electric field and tensile strain aiming to enhance the photocatalytic performance. To illustrate this, in the present manuscript, the DFT based simulation tool VASP is used to investigate the band alignment of nanocomposites in combinations of nanotubes and nanoribbons in the ground state. To address the lifetime of photogenerated holes and electrons in the excited state, nonadiabatic dynamics calculations are needed.

Engineering the interlayer exchange coupling in magnetic trilayers.

When the thickness of metal film approaches the nanoscale, itinerant carriers resonate between its boundaries and form quantum well states (QWSs), which are crucial to account for the film's electrical, transport and magnetic properties. Besides the classic origin of particle-in-a-box, the QWSs are also susceptible to the crystal structures that affect the quantum resonance. Here we investigate the QWSs and the magnetic interlayer exchange coupling (IEC) in the Fe/Ag/Fe (001) trilayer from first-principles calculations. We find that the carriers at the Brillouin-zone center (belly) and edge (neck) separately form electron- and hole-like QWSs that give rise to an oscillatory feature for the IEC as a function of the Ag-layer thickness with long and short periods. Since the QWS formation sensitively depends on boundary conditions, one can switch between these two IEC periods by changing the Fe-layer thickness. These features, which also occur in the magnetic trilayers with other noble-metal spacers, open a new degree of freedom to engineer the IEC in magnetoresistance devices.