No abstract

A new Fortran 95 implementation of the DFTB (density functional-based tight binding) method has been developed, where the sparsity of the DFTB system of equations has been exploited. Conventional dense algebra is used only to evaluate the eigenproblems of the system and long-range Coulombic terms, but drop-in O(N) or O(N2) modules are planned to replace the small code sections that these entail. The developed sparse storage structure is discussed in detail, and a short overview of other features of the new code is given.

We extend an approximate density functional theory (DFT) method for the description of long-range dispersive interactions which are normally neglected by construction, irrespective of the correlation function applied. An empirical formula, consisting of an R−6 term is introduced, which is appropriately damped for short distances; the corresponding C6 coefficient, which is calculated from experimental atomic polarizabilities, can be consistently added to the total energy expression of the method. We apply this approximate DFT plus dispersion energy method to describe the hydrogen bonding and stacking interactions of nucleic acid base pairs. Comparison to MP2/6-31G*(0.25) results shows that the method is capable of reproducing hydrogen bonding as well as the vertical and twist dependence of the interaction energy very accurately.

Recent reports on the fabrication of phosphorene, i.e., mono-or few-layer black phosphorus, have raised exciting prospects of an outstanding two-dimensional (2D) material that exhibits excellent properties for nanodevice applications. Here we study by first-principles calculations the adsorption of CO, CO 2 , NH 3 , NO and NO 2 gas molecules on a mono-layer phosphorene. Our results predict superior sensing performance of phosphorene that rivals or even surpasses other 2D materials such as graphene and MoS 2 . We determine the optimal adsorption positions of these molecules on the phosphorene and identify molecular doping, i.e., charge transfer between the molecules and phosphorene, as the driving mechanism for the high adsorption strength. We further calculated the current-voltage (I-V) relation using a non-equilibrium Green's function (NEGF) formalism. The transport features show large (one to two orders of magnitude) anisotropy along different (armchair or zigzag) directions, which is consistent with the anisotropic electronic band structure of phosphorene. Remarkably, the I-V relation exhibits distinct responses with a marked change of the I-V relation along either the armchair or the zigzag directions depending on the type of molecules. Such selectivity and sensitivity to adsorption makes phosphorene a superior gas sensor that promises wide-ranging applications.