In this feature article we focus on the key problem of charge separation in nano-scale photovoltaic materials; in particular recent theoretical/computational work based on first principles electronic structure approaches is presented and discussed. We review applications of state-of-the-art electronic structure calculations to nano-scale materials that enable charge separation between an excite...

abstract: application of atomic force microscope as a manipulator for pushing-based positioning of nano-particles has been of considerable interest during recent years. however a detailed modeling of the interaction forces and control on the afm tip is important for prosperous manipulation control, a reliable control of the afm tip position during the afm-based manipulation process is a main is...

Piezoelectric materials capable of converting between mechanical and electrical energy have a great range of potential applications in micro- and nano-scale smart devices; however, their performance tends to be greatly degraded when reduced to a thin film due to the large clamping force by the substrate and surrounding materials. Herein, we report an effective method for synthesizing isolated p...

Nanotechnology is a subject of material science that encompasses nano particles. A nano particle has at least one of its dimensions in nanometers. Its significance was revealed when it was observed that the materials drastically change their characteristics when they are ground to nano size. The importance of nanotechnology related research and development is now well-recognized worldwide. A hu...

Metals have been investigated as biomaterials for a wide range of medical applications. At nanoscale, some metals, such gold nanoparticles, exhibit plasmonics, which motivated researchers’ focus on biosensor development. the device level, titanium, good physical properties, could allow them to act biomedical implants support. Despite these attractive features, non-specific delivery metallic nan...

Pictures and movies of modern large scale molecular simulations can be downloaded from the course web site http://micro.stanford.edu/∼me346 (click “Course Materials”). Examples include plastic deformation in metals containing a crack, phase transformation induced by shock waves, nano-indentation of metal film, laser ablation on metal surface, etc. In each of these examples, molecular simulation...

The mechanical properties of materials are inherently multiscale, depending on phenomena at all length scales. Hence, multiscale modeling is a huge scientific challenge as well as a critical necessity for successful manipulation of material properties. This proposed research aims to investigate the microstructure (i.e., grain and inclusion) effect on the material properties especially for the s...