Ab initio calculations of the electronic structure of freestanding Cu and Na nanowires with a diameter of few atoms are presented. The calculations are based on density functional theory in local density approximation using a Screened Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker-Green's function method. The method was extended for the description of quasi-onedimensional systems. Translational invariance in direction of the wire is assumed. The dependence of the bandstructure and the density of states from thickness and shape of the cross-section is discussed. The quantum confinement of the eigenstates is analysed. By comparing the results of the Na and Cu wires, the influence of the d-electrons is shown. Based on the Landauer theory of transport the conductance is obtained within a Green's function formalism. The numerical description of the conductance is tested for ideal translationally invariant Na and Cu wires. The influence of substitutional transition metal impurities on the electronic structure and the conductance of the 2x2 Cu wire is studied. A spin-dependent discussion is given for magnetic impurities. / Es werden ab initio Berechnungen der elektronischen Struktur freistehender Na- und Cu-Nanodrähte mit einem Durchmesser von wenigen Atomen präsentiert. Für die Berechnung wird eine Screened Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker-Grennsche Funktionsmethode genutzt, die auf der Spindichtefunktionaltheorie in lokaler-Spindichtenäherung basiert. Diese Methode wurde für die Beschreibung von quasieindimensionalen Systemen erweitert. Die Drähte werden als translationsinvariant in Drahtrichtung beschrieben. Es wird die Abhängigkeit der Bandstruktur und der Zustandsdichte von der Dicke und der Form des Querschnitts diskutiert. Das Quantenconfinement der Eigenzustände wird analysiert. Durch den Vergleich der Resultate für den Na- und den Cu-Draht kann der Einfluss der d-Elektronen gezeigt werden. Ausgehend von der Landauer-Theorie des Transports wird der Leitwert im Rahmen eines Greenschen Funktions-Formalismus berechnet. Diese neue numerische Beschreibung des Leitwertes wird an idealen translationsinvarianten Drähten getestet. Es wird der Einfluss von substitutionellen 3d-Übergangsmetall-Störungen auf die elektronische Struktur und auf den Leitwert von 2x2-Cu-Drähten studiert. Im Fall magnetischer Defekte wird dieser Einfluss spinabhängig diskutiert.

In the first two chapters we presented the basics of density functional theory and semiempirical LSD+U approximation, which was implemented in the full-potential local-orbital (FPLO) minimal-basis calculation scheme. In the third chapter we tested the implemented version of LSDA+U on 3d transitional metal monoxides. Essential improvement of the spectroscopic properties was obtained. A simple model describing the value and direction of the magnetic moment of a transition metal ion was presented. The model visualizes the interplay of the spin-orbit coupling and crystal field splitting. In the fourth chapter we calculated the electronic spectrum of the single Zn impurity in CuO2 plane considered as a vacancy in Cu 3d states. The analytic solution for the states of different symmetry was obtained. Depending on the strength of perturbation induced by the impurity on the neighboring Cu ions, the states are either resonant or localized. The critical values of the perturbation were computed. In the fifth chapter we presented the calculations for three novel vanadates: MgVO3, Sb2O2VO3 and VOMoO4. The tight-binding parameters and the exchange integrals were computed. The magnesium and antimony vanadates appeared to be spin-½ one-dimensional systems, the latter having much stronger one-dimensional character and being probably the best realization of inorganic spin-Peierls system. The molybdenum vanadate was found to be two-dimensional spin-½ system. The Mo 4d orbitals play an important role in the electronic transfer.

The aim of this thesis was to find anomalies of elastic properties induced by topological changes of the Fermi surface. The latter are called "Lifshitz transitions". Lifshitz transitions are an interesting subject to study because a topological change of the Fermi surface results in a van Hove singularity of the density of states at the Fermi energy, which again induces an anomaly in the free energy and therefore yield anomalies of observable physical quantities. In all cases the question arose, if the corresponding van Hove singularities are large enough to cause anomalies in the elastic properties, which are measurable by nowadays experimental techniques and computable within the accuracy reachable in nowadays computer calculations. The calculations have been done with the Full-Potential nonorthogonal Local-Orbital minimum-basis band-structure code FPLO. To shift the van Hove singularities through the Fermi energy we used hydrostatic pressure, which is mimicked in the computations by decreasing the volume of the unit cell. The materials under consideration had been YCo5 and LaCo5 as examples for magnetic compounds and the element Osmium as an example for a non-magnetic material. All these materials exhibit hexagonal symmetry. In the case of YCo5 our calculations yield a first order Lifshitz transition. Here, an extraordinarily large peak in the spin-up part of the DOS, which is caused by a nearly dispersionless band in the hexagonal plane, crosses the Fermi level under a pressure of about 21 GPa. Thus, the spin-up 3d states become partly depopulated, which results in a drop of the total magnetic moment of 35%. Therefore the transition can be regarded as a transition from strong to weak ferromagnetism. Further, the transition results in a volume collapse of 1.4%. Though the volume collapse is isomorphic, it exhibits the following anisotropy: while the lattice constant in the hexagonal plane is almost smoothly contracting with increasing pressure, the lattice constant in c-direction collapses at the transition-pressure. This volume collapse has been verified in experiment. Analogous calculations have been performed for the compound LaCo5, which is isoelectronic to YCo5. Here as well we predict a first order Lifshitz transition, taking place at a pressure of about 23 GPa. The mechanism of the transition is the same than in YCo5. Again we find a volume collapse under pressure together with a decrease of the magnetic moment. The relative volume change amounts to 1.3%. Like in YCo5, the unit cell dimensions in the hexagonal plane are decreasing almost smoothly with pressure while in c-direction the lattice constant collapses at the transition-pressure. For LaCo5 there are no such experiments done so far to the best of our knowledge. For Osmium we found, that LDA reproduces the ground state volume very well. Furthermore, we could detect three Lifshitz transitions taking place at very high pressures of about 72 GPa, 81 GPa, and 122 GPa. At first, a hole ellipsoid appears at the Gamma-point (V=24.6Å^3, P=72 GPa), then a neck is created at the symmetry-line LH (V=24.2Å^3, P=81 GPa), and finally a hole ellipsoid appears at the L-point (V=23.2 Å^3, P=122 GPa). Due to a degeneracy in the band structure, the hole ellipsoid at the L-point appears at the same pressure when the necks, situated at the symmetry-lines LH merge at L. The corresponding van Hove singularities in the DOS are very tiny and thus no anomalies in the elastic properties could be detected. Furthermore, we showed that the kink in c/a at 25 GPa and at 27 GPa found by Occelli et al. [Occelli et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 095502 (2004)] and Ma et al. [Ma et al., Phys. Rev. B 72, 174103 (2005)], respectively, is not statistically significant and that (c/a)(P) can be fitted equally well by a smooth function as by piece-wise linear functions as proposed in these references. / Das Ziel dieser Arbeit war es, Anomalien in den elastischen Eigenschaften zu finden, die durch topologische Änderungen der Fermifläche - genannt "Lifschitz Übergänge" - hervorgerufen werden. Lifschitz Übergänge sind ein interessantes Forschungsgebiet, denn die topologische Änderung der Fermifläche führt zu einer van Hove Singularität in der Zustandsdichte, die an der Fermienergie liegt und eine Anomalie in der freien Energie hervorruft und deswegen zu Anomalien in beobachtbaren physikalischen Größen führt. In allen Fällen kam die Frage auf, ob die entsprechenden van Hove Singularitäten groß genug sind, um mit heutigen Methoden meßbare und berechenbare Anomalien in den elastischen Eigenschaften zu verursachen. Die Daten wurden mit dem Computerprogramm FPLO (Full-Potential nonorthogonal Local-Orbital minimum-basis band-structure scheme) berechnet. Um die van Hove Singularitäten durch die Fermienergie zu schieben, verkleinerten wir das Volumen der Einheitszelle, um hydrostatischen Druck zu simulieren. Als zu untersuchende Stoffe wurden YCo5 und LaCo5 als Beispiele für magnetische Verbindungen gewählt und Osmium als Beispiel für ein nicht magnetisches Element. Im Falle von YCo5 fanden wir einen Lifschitz Übergang erster Ordnung. Hier springt ein besonders großer Peak im Spin-auf Teil der Zustandsdichte unter einem Druck von ca. 21 GPa über die Fermienergie. Dadurch werden die Spin-auf 3d Zustände teilweise unbesetzt und das magnetische Moment verringert sich um 35%. Deswegen kann man den Übergang als einen Übergang von starkem Ferromagnetismus zu schwachem Ferromagnetismus bezeichnen. Das Volumen verkleinert sich hierbei um 1.4%. Obwohl dieser Volumenkollaps isomorph ist, zeigt er folgende Anisotropie: während die Gitterkonstante in der hexagonalen Ebene mit zunehmendem Druck mehr oder weniger glatt kontrahiert, kollabiert am Übergangsdruck die Gitterkonstante in c-Richtung. Dieser Volumenkollaps wurde vom Experiment verifiziert. Analoge Rechnungen wurden für die Verbindung LaCo5, die isoelektronisch zu YCo5 ist, durchgeführt. Auch hier sagen wir einen Lifschitz Übergang erster Ordnung voraus, der bei einem Druck von ca. 23 GPa stattfinden wird. Der Mechanismus dieses Übergangs ist der selbe wie in YCo5. Wiederum finden wir einen Volumenkollaps unter Druck zusammen mit einer Verringerung des magnetischen Moments. Die relative Volumenänderung beträgt hier 1.3%. Wie in YCo5 verläuft hier die Kontraktion der Gitterkonstante in der hexagonalen Ebene mehr oder weniger glatt, während die Gitterkonstante in c-Richtung am Übergang kollabiert. Für LaCo5 existieren unseres Wissens hierzu noch keine Experimente. Im Falle von Osmium fanden wir drei Lifschitz Übergänge bei sehr hohen Drücken von ca. 72 GPa, 81 GPa, und 122 GPa. Zuerst bildet sich ein Lochellipsoid am Gamma-Punkt (V=24.6Å^3, P=72 GPa), dann bildet sich ein Hals an der Symmetrielinie LH (V=24.2Å^3, P=81 GPa), und zum Schluß erscheint ein Lochellipsoid am L-Punkt (V=23.2 Å^3, P=122 GPa). Auf Grund einer Entartung in der Bandstruktur taucht das Lochellipsoid am L-Punkt an dem Druck auf, an dem sich auch die Hälse auf der Symmetrielinie LH bei L verbinden. Die entsprechenden van Hove Singularitäten in der Zustandsdichte sind jedoch extrem klein und deswegen können keine Anomalien in den elastischen Eigenschaften detektiert werden. Desweiteren zeigten wir, daß der Knick in c/a, den Occelli et al. [Occelli et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 095502 (2004)] bei 25 GPa und Ma et al. [Ma et al., Phys. Rev. B 72, 174103 (2005)] bei 27 GPa fanden, statistisch nicht relevant ist und daß (c/a)(P) genauso gut von einer glatten Funktion gefittet wird als von stückweise linearen Funktionen.

The non-adiabatic quantum molecular dynamics (NA-QMD) method couples self-consistently classical nuclear motion with time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) in basis expansion for the electron dynamics. It has become a versatile approach to study the dynamics of atoms, molecules and clusters in a wide range of scenarios. This work presents applications of the NA-QMD method to important benchmark systems and its systematic extension to include quantum effects in the nuclear motion. Regarding the first objective, a complete study of the strong-field ionization and dissociation dynamics of nature’s simplest molecule H2+ is performed. By including all electronic and nuclear degrees of freedom and all reaction channels, molecular rotation is shown to play an important role in the ionization process. In addition, strong orientation effects in the energy deposition process of the Buckminster fullerene C60 in short intense laser pulses are surprisingly found in full dimensional calculations. Their consequences on the subsequent nuclear relaxation dynamics shed new light on available experimental data and future experiments are proposed to confirm the detailed predictions. Regarding the second objective, the NA-QMD formalism is basically extended to take electron-nuclear correlations into account. This extension is achieved by means of a trajectory surface hopping scheme in the adiabatic Kohn-Sham framework. First studied examples from collision physics and photochemistry illustrate the relevance and importance of quantum effects in the nuclear dynamics.

Die vorliegende Promotionsarbeit “Density functional study of the electronic and magnetic properties of selected transition metal complexes” beschäftigt sich mit dem Zusammenhang zwischen strukturellen Merkmalen sowie elektronischen und magnetischen Eigenschaften von Einzelmolekül-Magneten. Im Wesentlichen konnte dabei gezeigt werden, dass die magnetischen Eigenschaften sowohl von strukturellen Merkmalen als auch von den elektronischen Eigenschaften bestimmt werden. Des Weiteren ergab sich, dass verschiedene Kenngrößen der magnetischen Eigenschaften (im speziellen der magnetische Grundzustand S sowie die magnetische Anisotropie D) miteinander korreliert sind. Dies ist im Besonderen für eine mögliche Anwendung von Einzelmolekül-Magneten im Bereich der Datenspeicherung von Bedeutung.

Epitaxial growth is an important technique for the fabrication of film structures with good crystalline quality, e.g., monoatomic overlayers, multilayers, compound materials, and ordered alloys. Such epitaxially grown films are technologically important materials with, e.g., adjustable electronic, magnetic, and optical properties. In case of coherent or pseudomorphic epitaxy, the overlayer adapts the in-plane lattice parameters of the substrate, i.e., the overlayer is strained to match the lattice parameters parallel to the substrate surface (in-plane directions). Simultaneously, a relaxation of the film dimension perpendicular to the substrate-film interface occurs (out-of-plane direction). Thus, coherent epitaxy provides a method to put phases under strain, and it can stabilise a metastable state of the film material, if the substrate lattice matches this metastable structure. Bulk-like properties in thick overlayers, which adopt the body-centred tetragonal (BCT) crystal structure and which grow coherently on a suitable substrate with quadratic surface symmetry, are modelled by the epitaxial Bain path (EBP) in this thesis. The knowledge of the EBP allows to study properties of the overlayer as function of the substrate lattice parameter. In particular, strain effects on the film material, magnetic order in the overlayer, and the existence of possible metastable states are investigated by means of density functional theory (DFT) in the local spin density approximation (LSDA), and in the singular case of uranium, employing the generalised gradient approximation (GGA). Note that a symmetry property of the BCT structure states, that it is identical to the body-centred cubic (BCC) structure or the face-centred cubic (FCC) structure for definite ratios of the tetragonal lattice parameters. Our definition of the EBP has two, previously not considered consequences for EBPs in general: an EBP can be discontinuous, and the high symmetry cubic structures (FCC and BCC) need not be points on the EBP. Both cases occurred for several elements considered in this thesis. If, however, a cubic structure is a point on the EBP, then a symmetry property guarantees that the total energy along the EBP, E(a), is stationary at this cubic structure. We computed the EBPs of all transition metals (TMs), the post TMs Zn, Cd, and Hg, the alkaline earth metals Ca, Sr, and Ba, the lanthanides La and Lu, and the actinide U (35 elements were treated in total). For each element but Zr, Hg, and U, there are exactly two structures whose energies are minima on the EBP, and which exhibit neither in-plane nor out-of-plane stresses; for Zr, Hg, and U there are three minima each. All other states on the EBP exhibit in-plane stresses because they are a strained form of the stress-free structures. The possibility of metastability of these particular, stress-free structures, i.e., stabilisation of these structures without bonding to the substrate, was investigated by stability conditions based on linear elasticity theory (except for U). We predict that ten FCC structures and three BCT structures not known from the respective phase diagrams may be metastable. We studied the properties of ferromagnetic (FM) states on the EBP for the elements Fe, Co, and Ni, and moreover predict, that Mn, Ru, Os, and U order ferromagnetically for certain states of the EBP. The latter three elements are paramagnetic in their ground states. The onset of ferromagnetism in Os and U is not accompanied by a simultaneously fulfilled Stoner criterion. According to our results, antiferromagnetic order (with moment sequences up-down or up-up-down-down on successive (001) planes) is never more stable than FM order on any EBP for any element investigated. On the basis of our comprehensive results for all TMs, we analysed trends across each of the three TM series and similarities among the three series. We demonstrate, that the type of the EBP (a classification of extrema of E(a) by symmetry into types) follows a characteristic trend across each of the three TM series. We discuss exceptions (Mn, Fe, and Zr) to this trend. Another trend, identical for the three series, is found for the BCT­-FCC structural energy difference as function of the d-band filling (evaluated for BCT structures that define extrema of E(a)), which follows a similar trend as the well studied BCC­-FCC structural energy difference. Clear similarities among the three periods of elements are also reflected in the bulk moduli and in the elastic constants of the cubic or tetragonal structures, that define the global and local minima of E(a). The mentioned similarities suggest, that many properties which are associated with the EBPs of TMs, can be attributed to the occupation of the d-band, which is the most dominant feature of the electronic structure of TMs.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons exhibit a rich spectrum of physicochemical properties depending on the size and, more critically, on the edge and bond topologies. Among them, open-shell systems - molecules hosting unpaired electron densities - represent an important class of materials for organic electronic, spintronic, and optoelectronic devices, but remain challenging to synthesize in solution. We report the on-surface synthesis and scanning tunneling microscopy- and spectroscopybased study of two ultralow-gap open-shell molecules, namely peri-tetracene, a benzenoid graphene fragment with zigzag edge topology, and dibenzo[a,m]dicyclohepta-[bcde,nopq]rubicene, a nonbenzenoid nonalternant structural isomer of peri-tetracene with two embedded azulene units. Our results provide an understanding of the ramifications of altered bond topologies at the single-molecule scale, with the prospect of designing functionalities in carbon-based nanostructures via engineering of bond topology.

This thesis is concerned with theoretical concepts of phenomenological and statistical thermodynamics and their computational realization. The main goal of this thesis is to provide efficient workflows for an accurate description of thermodynamic properties of molecules and solid state materials. The Cp-MD workflow developed within this thesis is applied to characterize binary battery materials, such as lithium silicides.This workflow enables a numerically efficient description of macroscopic thermodynamic properties. For battery materials and metal-organic frameworks, it is shown that some macroscopic properties are dominantly controlled by microscopic properties. These microscopic properties are well described by respective small clusters or molecules.Given their reduced size, these systems can be calculated using more accurate and numerically more demanding methods. Standard density functional theory (DFT) and the so called Fermi-Löwdin orbital self-interaction correction (FLO-SIC) method are used for further investigations. It will be shown that SIC is able to overcome some of the problems of DFT. Given further workflows, it is demonstrated how a combination of different computational methods can speed up thermodynamic calculations and is able to deepen the understanding of the driving forces of macroscopic thermodynamic properties.:1 Introduction 2 Open-source and open-science I Theoretical basics 3 Computational methods 4 Computation of thermodynamic properties II Thermodynamics of solid state systems 5 Methodical developments 6 Lithium silicides 7 Metal-organic frameworks III Thermodynamics of nuclei and electrons 8 Electrons and bonding information 9 Thermodynamic properties IV Summary 10 Conclusion 11 Outlook V Appendix / Diese Arbeit befasst sich mit theoretischen Konzepten der phänomenologischen und statistischen Thermodynamik und deren numerischer Umsetzung. Das Hauptziel dieser Arbeit ist es, Arbeitsabläufe für die akurate Beschreibung von thermodynamischen Eigenschaften von Molekülen und Festkörpern zur Verfügung zu stellen. Der während dieser Arbeit entwickelte Cp -MD Arbeitsablauf wird angewandt um binäre Batteriemateralien, wie Lithiumsilizide, zu charakterisieren. Dieser Arbeitsablauf ermöglicht eine numerisch effiziente Beschreibung von makroskopischen thermodynamischen Eigenschaften. Für Batteriemateralien und metallorganische Gerüstverbindungen wird gezeigt, dass einige makroskopische Eigenschaften hauptsächlich von mikroskopischen Eigenschaften kontrolliert sind. Diese mikroskopischen Eigenschaften können mittels zugehöriger Cluster oder Moleküle beschrieben werden. Aufgrund ihrer reduzierten Größe können diese Systeme mit genaueren und numerisch aufwendigeren Methoden berechnet werden. Standard Dichtefunktionaltheorie (DFT) und die Fermi-Löwdin-Orbital Selbstwechselwirkungskorrektur (FLO-SWK) werden für weitere Untersuchungen verwendet. Es wird gezeigt, dass die SWK einige Probleme der DFT überwinden kann. Anhand weiterer Arbeitsabläufe wird gezeigt, wie eine Kombination von verschiedenen numerischen Methoden thermodynamische Berechnungen beschleunigen kann und in der Lage ist das Verständnis der Triebkräfte von makroskopischen thermodynamischen Eigenschaften zu vertiefen.:1 Introduction 2 Open-source and open-science I Theoretical basics 3 Computational methods 4 Computation of thermodynamic properties II Thermodynamics of solid state systems 5 Methodical developments 6 Lithium silicides 7 Metal-organic frameworks III Thermodynamics of nuclei and electrons 8 Electrons and bonding information 9 Thermodynamic properties IV Summary 10 Conclusion 11 Outlook V Appendix

This work describes theoretical studies on molecular and electronic structures of lanthanide-based single-molecule magnets focusing on their magnetic properties. In this work, two main problems are covered: the structural ordering of endohedral fullerenes in different supramolecular arrangements, and the magnetic anisotropy of lanthanides in different charge coordinations. The basic methodes used in this work are density functional theory and multiconfigurational self-consistent field.:CHAPTER 1. THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF RARE-EARTH MAGNETISM 12 1.1. Single-molecule magnetism and 4f-elements 14 1.1.1. Electronic structure of 4f-elements 16 1.1.2. LS-coupling scheme 19 1.1.3. Parameterization of the Crystal-Field splitting effect. 20 1.1.4. Zeeman splitting for a free ion 24 1.1.5. Spin Hamiltonian and pseudospin approximation 24 1.1.6. Kramers theorem 25 1.1.7. Weak and strong molecular interactions. 26 1.2. Computational methods in application to Ln-based SMMs 27 1.2.1. Density functional theory (DFT). 28 1.2.2. Multiconfigurational methods in quantum chemistry 33 1.3. Role of molecular structure in single-molecular magnetism 41 1.3.1. Complexes of SMMs with organic molecules 45 1.3.2. SMMs deposited on surfaces 46 CHAPTER 2. STRUCTURAL ORDERING IN COCRYSTALS OF EMFs AND Ni(OEP) 49 2.1. Ordering in endohedral metallofullerenes 49 2.2. Modeling details 51 2.3. Conformer analysis 54 2.4. Electrostatic potential 58 CHAPTER 3. ISOMERISM OF Dy2ScN@C80 DEPOSITED ON SURFACES 61 3.1. Modeling details 62 3.2. Cluster conformation analysis 69 3.3. Charge density analysis 75 CHAPTER 4. Ho|MgO AS A SINGLE-ATOMIC MAGNET. FV-MAGNETISM. 80 4.1. DFT description of Ln|MgO 85 4.2. Ho|MgO system: ab initio calculations 92 4.3. Magnetic properties of lanthanides with FV magnetism 99 4.4. Generalized ligand field and spin Hamiltonians for FV systems. 101 CHAPTER 5. FV-MAGNETISM IN [Ln2+] METALLOCENE COMPLEXES 107 5.1. TbII(CpiPr5)2 DFT-model 108 5.2. FV-interaction in terms of ab initio multiconfigurational approach 113 5.3. Point-charge model 115

The electronic structure of the zero-gap two-dimensional graphene has a charge neutrality point exactly at the Fermi level that limits the practical application of this material. There are several ways to modify the Fermi-level-region of graphene, e.g. adsorption of graphene on different substrates or different molecules on its surface. In all cases the so-called dispersion or van der Waals interactions can play a crucial role in the mechanism, which describes the modification of electronic structure of graphene. The adsorption of water on graphene is not very accurately reproduced in the standard density functional theory (DFT) calculations and highly-accurate quantum-chemical treatments are required. A possibility to apply wavefunction-based methods to extended systems is the use of local correlation schemes. The adsorption energies obtained in the present work by means of CCSD(T) are much higher in magnitude than the values calculated with standard DFT functional although they agree that physisorption is observed. The obtained results are compared with the values available in the literature for binding of water on the graphene-like substrates. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.