Category archives: Condensed matter

The microscopic mechanism behind the vibrational relaxation of adsorbates on metal surfaces

The microscopic mechanism behind the vibrational relaxation of adsorbates on metal surfaces

Condensed matterMaterialsNanotechnologyPhysicsTheoretical physics

By DIPC

Most of the theories describing dynamical processes at surfaces rely on the validity of the adiabatic Born-Oppenheimer approximation. What does this mean? We have already seen that adsorption commonly is understood as the reversible binding of molecules and atoms from the gaseous or liquid phase on surfaces, mostly of highly porous adsorbent media. In chemisorption […]

Using machine learning to discover new metallic glasses

Using machine learning to discover new metallic glasses

Computer scienceCondensed matterMaterials

By Silvia Román

Metallic glasses are a unique class of materials whose properties combine some of the irreconcilable properties of both metals and polymers. They consist of a combination of metals which, in the solid state, present an amorphous atomic structure, in contrast to common metal alloys, which present a highly ordered microscopic pattern. This lack of crystalline […]

Geometric control of noble-metal nanoparticles

Geometric control of noble-metal nanoparticles

ChemistryCondensed matterMaterialsNanotechnology

By Invited Researcher

Author: Roberto D’Agosta is an Ikerbasque Research Professor at ETSF and the Department of Materials Physics in the Faculty of Chemistry at the UPV/EHU in San Sebastian. Francesca Baletto, senior lecturer at King’s College London, read and commented the manuscript. Every single moment, nature exploits catalysis to make or improve specific chemical reactions. Catalysts facilitate […]

Helium atom scattering can measure electron−phonon interaction properties of surfaces

Helium atom scattering can measure electron−phonon interaction properties of surfaces

Condensed matterMaterialsQuantum physics

By DIPC

Atom scattering at low energies has a long history as a useful probe of surface properties. The most common atomic projectiles are helium atoms formed into a monoenergetic beam directed toward the surface with energies in the thermal range, meaning kinetic energies less than 100 meV. From ordered surfaces the scattered spectra consist of sharp […]

Solvent-induced reversible clustering of gold nanoparticles

Solvent-induced reversible clustering of gold nanoparticles

ChemistryCondensed matterMaterialsNanotechnology

By DIPC

Many methods can be used to synthesise non-molecular inorganic solids. Some solids can be prepared by a variety of routes but others, especially those that are not thermodynamically stable, may be much more difficult to prepare and may require special methods. Non-molecular inorganic solids can also be prepared in various forms, as fibres, films, foams […]

Beyond the point-dipole approximation

Beyond the point-dipole approximation

Condensed matterMaterialsQuantum physicsTheoretical physics

By DIPC

The wave nature of light expresses itself in the propagation all over space, showing an intrinsic limitation to be localized beyond the so-called diffraction limit which is of the order of half the wavelength of the photons propagating. However when interacting with matter, light often gets reflected, diffracted, scattered or absorbed depending on the interactions […]

The flexibility of 2D silica

The flexibility of 2D silica

Condensed matterMaterialsNanotechnologyPhysics

By DIPC

Since the discovery that graphene, the two dimensional carbon allotrope, can be isolated and incorporated into electronic devices intense research efforts have been triggered. Driving forces usually mentioned behind the experimental and theoretical studies of graphene are the exceptional electronic properties, in particular the high electron mobilities, the long spin coherence lengths and the possibility […]

How to extract the interacting spectral function from a ground state DFT calculation

How to extract the interacting spectral function from a ground state DFT calculation

Condensed matterNanotechnologyPhysicsQuantum physicsTheoretical physics

By DIPC

The electronic wave function of an n-electron molecule depends on 3n spatial and n spin coordinates. In a sense, the wave function of a many-electron molecule contains more information than is needed and is lacking in direct physical significance. This has prompted the search for methods that involve fewer variables than the wave function and […]

Higher-order topological insulators

Higher-order topological insulators

Condensed matterMaterialsPhysicsTheoretical physics

By DIPC

Topological insulators are materials with special universal properties, which are protected against perturbations. Such properties are theoretically described by topology, a branch of mathematics concerned with the properties of geometrical objects that are unchanged by continuous deformations. Concretely, topological insulators are electronic materials that have a bulk band gap like an ordinary insulator but have […]

The forgotten fraction in semicrystalline semiconducting polymers

The forgotten fraction in semicrystalline semiconducting polymers

ChemistryCondensed matterMaterials

By DIPC

A class of materials of utmost fundamental and applied interest is that of semicrystalline polymers. Actually, all solid synthetic polymers are, in general, partly crystalline and partly amorphous. The degree of crystallinity depends on the polymer structure and on how the solid is prepared. Rapid cooling of the molten polymer favors formation of an amorphous […]