Imposing dimensional restrictions on graphene sheets and adding impurities can give rise to carbon nanostructures with magnetic properties. In this work, zigzag graphene nanoribbons, zGNRs, with nitrogen and fluorine adatoms are investigated for magnetic properties of interest for spin devices. Geometry optimizations were done determining which position along a zGNR electrode that N and F would favorably attach to. Edge positions were determined as the most stable attachment site. M-cell zGNR electrodes (M = 1-3) edge-functionalized by N and F adatoms were investigated with respect to their band structures and spin densities in antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic, AFM and FM, configurations. Focus was placed on band structures showing spin gaps, indicating potential for magnetoresistive devices. Devices were modeled for 2-cell and 3-cell electrodes with nitrogen adatoms, and the respective transmission spectra were compared. Attaching N adatoms to zGNRs turned out to be a mode of controlled manipulation of their spin configurations. Spin gaps were identified in units based on 3-cell-zGNR electrodes.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Chemical Engineering / Vikas Berry / Graphene - a single atom thick two dimensional sheet of sp[superscript]2 bonded carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb lattice - has shown great promise for both fundamental research & applications because of its unique electrical, optical, thermal, mechanical and chemical properties. Derivatization of graphene unlocks a plethora of novel properties unavailable to their pristine parent “graphene”. In this dissertation we have synthesized various structural and chemical derivatives of graphene; characterized them in detail; and leveraged their exotic properties for diverse applications. We have synthesized protein/DNA/ethylenediamine functionalized derivatives of graphene via a HATU catalyzed amide reaction of primary-amine-containing moieties with graphene oxide (GO) – an oxyfunctional graphene derivative. In contrast to non-specificity of graphene, this functionalization of GO has enabled highly specific interactions with analytes. Devices fabricated from the protein (concanavalin – A) and DNA functionalized graphene derivatives were demonstrated to enable label-free, specific detection of bacteria and DNA molecules, respectively, with single quanta sensitivity. Room temperature electrical characterization of the sensors showed a generation of ~ 1400 charge carriers for single bacterium attachment and an increase of 5.6 X 10[superscript]12 charge carriers / cm[superscript]2 for attachment of a single complementary strand of DNA. This work has shown for the first time the viability of graphene for bio-electronics and sensing at single quanta level. Taking the bio-interfacing of graphene to the next level, we demonstrate the instantaneous swaddling of a single live bacterium (Bacillus subtilis) with several hundred sq. micron (~ 600 µm[superscript]2) areal protein-functionalized graphene sheets. The atomic impermeability and high yield strength of graphene resulted in hermetic compartmentalization of bacteria. This enabled preservation of the dimensional and topological characteristics of the bacterium against the degrading effects of harsh environments such as the ultrahigh vacuum (~ 10[superscript]-5 Torr) and high intensity electron beam (~ 150 A/cm[superscript]2) in a transmission electron microscope (TEM) column. While an unwrapped bacterium shrank by ~ 76 % and displayed significant charge buildup in the TEM column; a wrapped bacterium remained uncontracted and undamaged owing to the graphenic wraps. This work has shown for the first time an impermeable graphenic encasement of bacteria and its application in high vacuum TEM imaging without using any lengthy traditional biological TEM sample preparation techniques. In an inch-scale, we fabricated robust free-standing paper composed of TWEEN/Graphene composite which exhibited excellent chemical stability and mechanical strength. This paper displayed excellent biocompatibility towards three mammalian cell lines while inhibiting the non-specific binding of bacteria (Bacillus cereus). We predict this composite and its derivatives to have excellent applications in biomedical engineering for transplant devices, invasive instrument coatings and implants. We also demonstrate a novel, ultra-fast and high yield process for reducing GO to reduced graphene oxide (RGO) using a facile hydride-based chemistry. The RGO sheets thus-produced exhibited high carrier mobilities (~ 100-600 cm[superscript]2/V•s) and reinstatement of the ambipolar characteristic of graphene. Raman spectra and UV-Vis spectroscopy on the RGO sheets displayed a high degree of restoration of the crystalline sp2 lattice with relatively low defects. We fabricated graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) – 1D structural derivatives of graphene – using a nano-scale cutting process from highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) blocks, with widths pre-determinable between 5 nm to 600 nm. The as-produced GNRs had very high aspect ratio in the longitudinal direction (~ 0.01); exhibited predominantly mono-layered structure (< 10 % bilayer); and smooth edges (Raman I[subscript]D/G ~ 0.25 -0.28). Low temperature electrical transport measurements on back-gated thin film GNR devices were performed and a carrier mobility of ~ 20 ± 4 cm[superscript]2/V•s with sheet resistances of 2.2-5.1 MΩ / □ was extracted. Despite the ~ 50 nm thicknesses of the films, a clear bandgap scaling was observed with transport via variable range hopping (VRH) in 2 and 3 dimensions. This work demonstrates the first fully functional narrow pristine GNR thin-film field effect transistors (FETs). In addition we fabricated graphene quantum dots (GQDs) – 0D derivatives of graphene with dimensions < 100 nm – using a slight variation of our nano-scale cutting strategy, where the cleavage process is carried out in two dimensions. A high degree of control on the dimensions (Std. Dev. of ~ 5 nm for 50 X 50 nm square GQDs) and shape (pre-determinable between square, rectangle, triangle and trapezoid) of the as-synthesized GQDs is demonstrated. The optical properties of the GQDs such as the UV-Vis absorbance and photoluminescence were studied and their facile tunability was demonstrated depending on their dimensions. This work demonstrates for the first time the high throughput fabrication of GQDs with tunable dimensions and shape.

In this work, we demonstrate the bottom-up on-surface synthesis of poly(para-dibenzo[bc,kl]-coronenylene) (PPDBC), a zigzag edge-encased analog of poly(para-phenylene) (PPP), and its lateral fusion into zigzag edge-extended graphene nanoribbons (zeeGNRs). Toward this end, we designed a dihalogenated di(meta-xylyl)anthracene monomer displaying strategic methyl groups at the substituted phenyl ring and investigated its applicability as precursor in the thermally induced surface-assisted polymerization and cyclodehydrogenation. The structure of the resulting zigzag edge-rich (70%) polymer PPDBC was unambiguously confirmed by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and non-contact atomic force microscopy (nc-AFM). Remarkably, by further thermal treatment at 450 °C two and three aligned PPDBC chains can be laterally fused into expanded zeeGNRs, with a ribbon width of nine (N = 9) up to 17 (N = 17) carbon atoms. Moreover, the resulting zeeGNRs exhibit a high ratio of zigzag (67%) vs armchair (25%) edge segments and feature electronic band gaps as low as 0.9 eV according to gaps quasiparticle calculations.

Structurally precision graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) have attracted great interest considering their prospective applications as organic carbon materials for nanoelectronics. The electronic properties of GNRs not only critically depend on the edge structure and width but also on the heteroatom type, doping position, and concentration. Motivated by the recent undisputable progress in the synthesis of stable boron-doped polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (B-PAHs), considerable efforts have been devoted to the precision synthesis of the corresponding boron-doped GNRs (B-GNRs) via bottom-up synthesis approach in recent years in view of the extraordinary ability of boron doping on modulating their physiochemical properties. In this review, an overview of the bottom-up organic synthesis of B-GNRs, including the precursor design and synthesis, structure characterization of the resulting B-GNRs, and investigation of their electronic properties is provided. Moreover, the future challenges and perspectives regarding the bottom-up synthesis of B-GNRs are also discussed. The authors hope that this review will further stimulate the synthesis and device integrations of B-GNRs with a combined effort from different disciplines.

Les propriétés optoélectroniques de jonctions moléculaires sont étudiées par microscopie à effet tunnel (STM). Premièrement, les structures moléculaires sont synthétisées sur une surface Au(111). Puis, par manipulation, nous soulevons et suspendons une molécule entre la pointe du STM et la surface d’or pour obtenir une jonction moléculaire. En appliquant une tension entre la pointe et l'échantillon, un courant est généré, ce qui conduit à l'excitation de la molécule. Ce processus est médié par des modes de plasmons de surface localisé de la pointe. Finalement, la molécule se désexcite de manière radiative et génère un signal de fluorescence. On utilise cette technique pour étudier deux systèmes moléculaires. Dans le premier, un émetteur (porphyrin) est suspendu dans la jonction grâce à des fils organiques (oligothiophène). Ce type de jonction génère une émission de lumière étroite dont la couleur est contrôlée en sélectionnant la structure chimique de l'émetteur. Le contrôle de la largeur du pic d’émission est obtenu en détachant progressivement l'unité émettrice de la surface. On observe aussi des pics vibroniques décalés vers le rouge qui fournissent une empreinte chimique de l’émetteur, et des pics décalés vers le bleu, signe d’une deséxcitation d’un exciton non-thermalisé. Le deuxième type de jonction est composé de nano-rubans de graphène (GNRs) dont la largeur et la structure de l’arrête sont définis avec une précision atomique. Une fois suspendu dans la jonction, les GNRs qui présentent une terminaison spécifique (terminaison C) montrent un spectre d’émission de lumière avec un pic principal et deux pics vibroniques décalés vers le rouge. Le pic principale est associé à une transition intra-ruban entre un état Tamm localisé et un état delocalisé. / This thesis presents a study of the optoelectronic properties of molecular junctions performed by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). First, the molecular structures are synthesized on a Au(111) surface. Then, by manipulation we lift and suspend a molecule between the tip of the STM and the gold surface, creating a single molecule junction. By applying a voltage bias between the tip and the sample, a current is generated, which leads to the excitation of the molecule. This process is mediated by the localized surface plasmon modes of the tip. Eventually, the molecule de-excites in a radiative way, generating a fluorescence signal. We use this technique to study two different molecular junctions. First, an emitting unit (fused-porphyrin) is suspended in the junction by means of organic linkers (oligothiophene). This type of junction generates a narrow-line emission of light whose color is controlled by selecting the chemical structure of the emitting unit. Moreover, control over the linewidth is obtained by progressively detaching the emitting unit from the surface. Also, we observe red-shifted vibronic features that provide a chemical fingerprint of the emitter, and blue- shifted vibronic features that are a sign of hot-luminescence. For the second type of junctions we use graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) of atomically precise width and edge structure. When lifted in the junction, GNRs with a specific type of termination (C-terminated) exhibit a light emission spectrum with a main peak and two red-shifted vibrational features. The main peak is associated to an intra-ribbon transition between a localized state (Tamm) and a delocalized state.

Over the past decade, the bottom-up synthesis of structurally defined graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) with various topologies has attracted significant attention due to the extraordinary optical, electronic, and magnetic properties of GNRs, rendering them suitable for a wide range of potential applications (e.g., nanoelectronics, spintronics, photodetectors, and hydrothermal conversion). Remarkable achievements have been made in GNR synthesis with tunable widths, edge structures, and tailor-made functional substitutions. In particular, GNRs with liquid-phase dispersibility have been achieved through the decoration of various functional substituents at the edges, providing opportunities for revealing unknown GNR physiochemical properties. Because of the promise of liquid-phase dispersible GNRs, this mini-review highlights recent advances in their synthetic strategies, physiochemical properties, and potential applications. In particular, deep insights into the dvantages and challenges of their syntheses and chemical methodologies are provided to encourage future endeavors and developments.

In memory of François Diederich. / Nanographenes (NGs) with open-shell character have gained intense attention due to their potential applications in future organic nanoelectronics and spintronics. Among them, NGs bearing a pair of parallel zigzag edges, such as acenes and periacenes (PAs) bestow unique (opto)electronic and magnetic properties owing to their localized non-bonding π-state. However, their reactive zigzag edges impart intrinsic instability, leading to the challenging synthesis. The recent development of synthetic strategies provided access to several π-extended PAs, which were considered unrealistic for decades. Notably, their laterally π-extended structures of zigzag-edged graphene nanoribbons was realised via on-surface synthesis. However, synthesis of π-extended PAs in solution is still in its infancy, more intensive scientific efforts are needed to surpass the existing challenges regarding stability and solubility. This Review provides an overview of recent progress in the synthesis and characterization of PAs through a bottom-up synthetic strategy, including on-surface and solution-phase chemistry. In addition, views on existing challenges and the future prospects are also provided.

This thesis is devoted to the optical properties of low-dimensional structures based on such two-dimensional materials as graphene, silicene and phosphorene. We investigate optical properties of a variety of quasi-one dimensional and quasi-zero-dimensional structures, which are promising for future optoelectronics. Primarily we focus on their low-energy optical properties and how these properties are influenced by the structures’ geometry, external fields, intrinsic strain and edge disorder. As a consequence of this endeavor, we find several interesting effects such as correlation between the optical properties of tubes and ribbons whose periodic and ‘hard wall’ boundary conditions are matched and a universal value of matrix element in narrow-gap tubes and ribbons characterizing probability of transitions across the band gap opened up by intrinsic strain originating from the tube’s surface curvature or ribbon’s edge relaxation. The analytical study of the gapped 2D Dirac materials such as silicene and germanene, which have some similarity to the aforementioned quasi-one-dimensional systems in terms of physical description, reveals a valley- and polarization-dependent selection rules. It was also found that absorption coefficient should change in gapped materials with increasing frequency and become a half of its value for gap edge transitions when the spectrum is linear. Our analysis of the electronic properties of flat clusters of silicene and phosphorene relates the emergence and the number of the peculiar edge states localized at zero energy, so-called zero-energy states, which are know to be of topological origin, to the cluster’s structural characteristics such as shape and size. This allows to predict the presence and the number of such states avoiding complicated topological arguments and provides a recipes for design of metallic and dielectric clusters. We show that zero-energy states are optically active and can be efficiently manipulated by external electric field. However, the edge disorder is important to take into account. We present a new fractal-based methodology to study the effects of the edge disorder which can be applied also to modeling of composite materials. These finding should be useful in design of optoelectronic devices such as tunable emitters and detectors in a wide region of electromagnetic spectrum ranging form the mid-infrared and THz to the optical frequencies.

This thesis deals with the research work carried out on the properties and applications such as GaN nanoparticles, Graphene etc. Chapter 1 of the thesis gives introduction to nanomaterials and various aspects of the thesis. Chapter 2 of the thesis describes the synthesis of GaN nanocrystals and their use as white light sources and as room temperature gas sensors. It also discusses negative differential resistance above room temperature exhibited by GaN. Electroluminescence from GaN-polymer heterojunction forms the last section of this chapter. Chapter 3 demonstrates the role of defect concentration on the photodetecting properties of ZnO nanorods with different defects prepared at different temperatures. Chapter 4 presents remarkable infrared and ultraviolet photodetector properties of reduced graphene oxide and graphene nanoribbons. Chapter 5 presents the infrared detecting properties of graphene-like few-layer MoS2. The summary of the thesis is given at the end of the thesis.

The present thesis deals with a theoretical study of electronic structures in -conjugated molecular materials with focus on their application in organic elec-tronics. We also discuss a modified and efficient symmetrized DMRG algorithm for studying excited states in these systems. In recent times, organic conjugated systems have emerged as potential candidates in a wide range of fascinating fields by virtue of their tunable electronic properties, easy processability and low cost. Tunability in the electronic and optical properties primarily are centered on the or-dering and nature of the low-lying excited states. Probing these important excited states also demands development of efficient and adaptable techniques. Chapter 1 provides a basic overview of conjugated organic polymers which have been utilized over decades in diverse fields as in organic light emitting diodes (OLED), organic solar cells (OSC) and non-linear optical (NLO) devices. These systems also contribute significantly to theoretical understanding as they pro vide important insights of one and quasi-one dimensional systems. In this chapter, we have given basic description of the electronic processes in OLED and OSC along with a brief theoretical description of -conjugated organic systems. Chapter 2 gives an account of the numerical techniques which are necessary for the study of low-dimensional strongly correlated systems like -conjugated sys-tems. For this purpose, effective low-energy model Hamiltonians viz. Huckel,¨ Hubbard and Pariser-Parr-Pople Hamiltonians are discussed. Exact diagonalization technique within the diagrammatic valence bond (DVB) basis and density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) technique are discussed in details. We have also given brief accounts of the methods employed to study real-time dynamics. A short description of different computational techniques for the study of NLO properties in -conjugated systems is also provided. Engineering the position of the lowest triplet state (T1) relative to the first excited singlet state (S1) is of great importance in improving the efficiencies of organic light emitting diodes and organic photovoltaic cells. In chapter 3, we have carried out model exact calculations of substituted polyene chains to understand the fac-tors that affect the energy gap between S1 and T1. The factors studied are backbone dimerization, different donor-acceptor substitutions and twisted backbone geome-try. The largest system studied is an eighteen carbon polyene which spans a Hilbert space of about 991 million in the triplet subspace. We show that for reverse inter-system crossing (RISC) process, the best choice involves substituting all carbon sites on one half of the polyene with donors and the other half with acceptors. Singlet fission (SF) is a potential pathway for significant enhancement of efficiency in OSC. In chapter 4, we study singlet fission in a pair of polyene molecules in two different stacking arrangements employing exact many-body wave packet dy-namics. In the non-interacting model, SF is absent. The individual molecules are treated within Hubbard and Pariser-Parr-Pople (PPP) models and the interac-tion between them involves transfer terms, intersite electron repulsions and site-charge—bond-charge repulsion terms. Initial wave packet is construc ted from ex-cited singlet state of one molecule and ground state of the other. Time develop-ment of this wave packet under the influence of intermolecular interactions is fol-lowed within the Schrodinger¨ picture by an efficient predictor-corrector scheme. In unsubstituted Hubbard and PPP chains, 21A state leads to significant SF yield while the 11B state gives negligible fission yield. On substitution by donor-acceptor groups of moderate strength, the lowest excited state will have sufficient 2 1A char-acter and hence gives significant SF yield. Because of rapid internal c onversion, the nature of the lowest excited singlet will determine the SF contribution to OSC effi - ciency. Furthermore, we find the fission yield depends considerably on th e stacking arrangement of the polyene molecules. In chapter 5, we have given an account of a new modified algorithm for symmetry adaptation within symmetrized density matrix renormalization group (SDMRG) technique. SDMRG technique has been an efficient method for studying low-lying eigenstates in one and quasi-one dimensional electronic systems. However, SDMRG method until now, had bottlenecks involving construction of linearly in-dependent symmetry adapted basis states as the symmetry matrices in the DMRG basis were not sparse. Our modified algorithm overcomes this bottleneck. T he new method incorporates end-to-end interchange symmetry (C2), electron-hole symmetry (J) and parity or spin-flip symmetry (P) in these calculations. The one-to-one correspondence between direct-product basis states in the DMRG Hilbert space for these symmetry operations renders the symmetry matrices in the new ba-sis with maximum sparseness, just one non-zero matrix element per row. Using methods similar to those employed in exact diagonalization technique for Pariser-Parr-Pople (PPP) models, developed in the eighties, it is possible to construct or-thogonal SDMRG basis states while bypassing the slow step of Gram-Schmidt orthonormalization procedure. The method together with the PPP model which incorporates long-range electronic correlations is employed to study the correlated excited states of 1,12-benzoperylene. In chapter 6, we have studied the correlated excited states of coronene and ova-lene within Pariser-Parr-Pople (PPP) model employing symmetry adapted density matrix renormalization group technique. These polynuclear aromatic hydrocar-bons can be considered as graphene nanoflakes and study of their ele ctronic struc-tures will shed light on the electron correlation effects in these finite-size gr aphene analogues. The electron correlation effect usually diminishes on going from one-dimensional to higher-dimensional systems, yet, it is significant within these fin ite-size graphene derivatives where it depends on the molecular topology. We have characterized these low-lying energy states by calculating bond orders, spin den-sities in the lowest triplet state and two-photon absorption cross-sections for low-lying two-photon states. vi