Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs), are strips of graphene with ultra-thin width (<50 nm). Graphene ribbons were introduced as a theoretical model by Mitsutaka Fujita and coauthors to examine the edge and nanoscale size effect in graphene. GNRs are very interesting structures, partly due to their attractive electronic properties. Those properties vary dramatically with changes in the […]
The importance of water is paramount. Life, as we know it, would be unthinkable without it. Not only that, the geology of our planet, and those of other planets, can not be properly understood without a knowledge of how water behaves. Most chemical reactions on the surface of Earth, natural or industrial, involve water molecules […]
Among the astonishing properties of graphene, a high mobility of the charge carriers has placed this material into the focus of intensive research efforts, aimed at developing high-speed graphene-based electronic devices. The first device of this family, a graphene field-effect transistor (GFET), still remains a promising candidate for applications in flexible electronic circuits. An essential […]
A chemical compound or molecule consisting of two identical simpler molecules is a dimer. If one of the simpler molecules is excited while the other is in its ground, non-excited, state we talk about excimers. They are excited dimers which are non-bonding in the ground state. Thus, excimers can be considered evanescent quasi-particles that typically […]
Everybody knows the force that is required to activate a light switch on a wall – a finger is enough. But how much force do you need to apply if the device was dramatically reduced to the “nanoscale world”, that is, how much force do you need to operate a “single-molecule switch”? This fundamental question […]
In order to study new solid state magnetic properties appropiate new laboratory models are needed. In particular, there is a necessity for a substrate to investigate new forms of magnetic coupling with nanoscale ferromagnets and the exotic physics at the interface with semiconductor or superconductor materials. Now a team of researchers from DIPC and some […]
An atom in an excited state gives off energy by emitting a photon, a quantum of electromagnetic radiation, according to Bohr’s second postulate. Although Bohr’s specific model of the atom has been vastly extended and incorporated into models based on a different approach , this postulate is still valid. Atoms can acquire internal energy, that […]
The success of Bohr’s model of the atom in accounting for the spectrum of hydrogen left this question: Could experiments show directly that atoms do have only certain, separate energy states? In other words, are there really gaps between the energies that an atom can have? A famous experiment in 1914, by the German physicists […]
Al13 − is one of the most attractive of the so-called magic clusters. It has a perfect icosahedral symmetry with an aluminum atom at the center, a closed-shell electronic configuration (40 electrons), and a large highest occupied molecular orbital−lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO− LUMO) gap. These features result in an unusual stability and chemical inertness […]
The idea that the solution of Schrödinger’s equation is a wave that represents, not a physical wave, but the probability of finding the associated particle in some specific condition of motion has had great success. In fact, every experiment devised so far to test this interpretation has confirmed these results. Yet many scientists still find […]