Simulation of nanocrystal growth into diverse shapes. (Image and research: Dr. Carlos L. Bassani, Prof. Dr. Michael Engel, Institute for Multiscale Simulation, Self-Organization Group)
Nanomaterials represent a class of materials with enhanced and new functionalities. Among these, nanocrystals stand out as a key category. They take crystal features to the next level by the interaction of nanocrystal shapes with electromagnetic waves – most notably, light. From targeted cancer treatments and efficient industrial catalysis to the vibrant structural colors seen in nature, nanocrystals present many applications. Yet, we are likely only scratching the surface of what they can achieve. One fact is undeniable: the shape of nanocrystals is a critical determinant of their properties.
At the Self-Organization Group within the Institute for Multiscale Simulation, we use kinetic Monte Carlo simulations to investigate nanocrystal growth and the diverse shapes they can adopt. We aim to uncover the when, the why, and the how different shapes form. Answering these questions will allow the production of nanocrystals made of cheaper and more sustainable elements for large societal use.
This project is supported by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, by the EAM Starting Grant (EAM-SG23-1) of the Competence Center Engineering of Advanced Materials at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, and by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) under Project-IDs 416229255 (SFB 1411) and 542350250. HPC resources provided by the Erlangen National High Performance Computing Center (NHR@FAU) under the NHR project b168dc are gratefully acknowledged. NHR funding is provided by federal and Bavarian state authorities. NHR@FAU hardware is partially funded by DFG under Project-ID 440719683.
Publications related to this work:
Carlos L. Bassani, Michael Engel. Kinetically Trapped Nanocrystals with Symmetry-Preserving Shapes. arXiv:2410.09787 [cond-mat], 2024. DOI:10.48550/arXiv.2410.09787 https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.09787
Carlos L. Bassani, Greg van Anders, Uri Banin, Dmitry Baranov, Qian Chen, Marjolein Dijkstra, Michael Dimitriyev, Efi Efrati, Jordi Faraudo, Oleg Gang, Nicola Gaston, Ramin Golestanian, Guillermo Ivan Guerrero-Garcia, Michael Grünwald, Amir Haji-Akbari, Maria Ibáñez, Matthias Karg, Tobias Kraus, Byeongdu Lee, Reid Van Lehn, Robert Macfarlane, Bortolo Matteo Mognetti, Saeed Osat, Oleg Prezhdo, Grant Rotskoff, Leonor Saiz, An-Chang Shi, Sara Skrabalak, Ivan Smalyukh, Mario Tagliazucchi, Dmitri Talapin, Alexei Tkachenko, Sergei Tretiak, David Vaknin, Asaph Widmer-Cooper, Gerard Wong, Xingchen Ye, Shan Zhou, Eran Rabani, Michael Engel, and Alex Travesset. Nanocrystal assemblies: Current advances and open problems. ACS Nano, 18:14791–14840, 2024. DOI:10.1021/acsnano.3c10201 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.3c10201
Nanocrystals Shaping the Future
Nanomaterials represent a class of materials with enhanced and new functionalities. Among these, nanocrystals stand out as a key category. They take crystal features to the next level by the interaction of nanocrystal shapes with electromagnetic waves – most notably, light. From targeted cancer treatments and efficient industrial catalysis to the vibrant structural colors seen in nature, nanocrystals present many applications. Yet, we are likely only scratching the surface of what they can achieve. One fact is undeniable: the shape of nanocrystals is a critical determinant of their properties.
At the Self-Organization Group within the Institute for Multiscale Simulation, we use kinetic Monte Carlo simulations to investigate nanocrystal growth and the diverse shapes they can adopt. We aim to uncover the when, the why, and the how different shapes form. Answering these questions will allow the production of nanocrystals made of cheaper and more sustainable elements for large societal use.
This project is supported by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, by the EAM Starting Grant (EAM-SG23-1) of the Competence Center Engineering of Advanced Materials at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, and by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) under Project-IDs 416229255 (SFB 1411) and 542350250. HPC resources provided by the Erlangen National High Performance Computing Center (NHR@FAU) under the NHR project b168dc are gratefully acknowledged. NHR funding is provided by federal and Bavarian state authorities. NHR@FAU hardware is partially funded by DFG under Project-ID 440719683.
Publications related to this work:
Carlos L. Bassani, Michael Engel. Kinetically Trapped Nanocrystals with Symmetry-Preserving Shapes. arXiv:2410.09787 [cond-mat], 2024. DOI:10.48550/arXiv.2410.09787
https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.09787
Carlos L. Bassani, Greg van Anders, Uri Banin, Dmitry Baranov, Qian Chen, Marjolein Dijkstra, Michael Dimitriyev, Efi Efrati, Jordi Faraudo, Oleg Gang, Nicola Gaston, Ramin Golestanian, Guillermo Ivan Guerrero-Garcia, Michael Grünwald, Amir Haji-Akbari, Maria Ibáñez, Matthias Karg, Tobias Kraus, Byeongdu Lee, Reid Van Lehn, Robert Macfarlane, Bortolo Matteo Mognetti, Saeed Osat, Oleg Prezhdo, Grant Rotskoff, Leonor Saiz, An-Chang Shi, Sara Skrabalak, Ivan Smalyukh, Mario Tagliazucchi, Dmitri Talapin, Alexei Tkachenko, Sergei Tretiak, David Vaknin, Asaph Widmer-Cooper, Gerard Wong, Xingchen Ye, Shan Zhou, Eran Rabani, Michael Engel, and Alex Travesset. Nanocrystal assemblies: Current advances and open problems. ACS Nano, 18:14791–14840, 2024. DOI:10.1021/acsnano.3c10201
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.3c10201
Research group website:
https://engellab.de/