This thesis discusses structural and ferroelectric properties of two well-known classes of materials, perovskite oxides and Hydrogen bonded ferroelectrics, using first-principles calculations. Certain aspects of first principles calculations are central to the problems presented in this thesis. Such as the ability to calculate polarization based on the modern theory of polarization and calculation of ferroelectric property under finite electric displacement field. Therefore, these fundamental theoretical approaches are discussed following an opening section on the basic methodology of density-functional theory. In addition to the discussion on theoretical methods, a brief review of different phenomena and techniques crucial to alter/enhance ferroelectric properties at the interfaces of perovskite materials has been presented along with examples. The first problem presented in this thesis proposes and validates an alternative quantitative measure of ferroelectric(FE) and antiferrodistortive(AFD) instabilities by means of calculating inverse capacitance and layer inverse capacitance of layered perovskites. The presented methodological approach is applied to BaTiO$_{3}$/CaTiO$_{3}$ and PbTiO$_{3}$/SrTiO$_{3}$ superlattices and it precisely estimates FE and AFD instabilities. Here we also present an approach to accurately predict the ferroelectric instabilities in large period superlattices from the statistical coefficients obtained from short period superlattices. In the second problem, we study ferroelectricity in an organic crystal(croconic acid) for which ferroelectric polarization is close to that of bulk BaTiO$_{3}$. We employ new meta-GGA functional named SCAN and revisit all structural and ferroelectric properties. Calculated X-ray absorption spectra(XAS) qualitatively and quantitatively agrees well with experimental O K-edge spectra. By discussing the origin of each XAS peak and their characteristic we demonstrate with a systematic approach the connection between ferroelectricity and XAS in croconic acid. Best to our knowledge such relation has not been realized in past. This study could prove XAS as a new way to measure ferroelectric instability in hydrogen-bonded organic ferroelectrics. / Physics

Water is of essential importance for life on earth, yet the physics concerning its various anomalous properties has not been fully illuminated. This thesis is dedicated to the understanding of liquid water from aspects of microscopic structures, dynamics, electronic structures, X-ray absorption spectra, and proton transfer mechanism. This thesis use the computational simulation techniques including density functional theory (DFT), ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD), and theoretical models for X-ray absorption spectra (XAS) to investigate the dynamics and electronic structures of liquid water system. The topics investigated in this thesis include a comprehensive evaluation on the simulation of liquid water using the newly developed SCAN meta-GGA functional, a systematic modeling of the liquid-water XAS using advanced ab initio approaches, and an explanation for a long-puzzling question that why hydronium diffuses faster than hydroxide in liquid water. Overall, significant contributions have been made to the understanding of liquid water and ionic solutions in the microscopic level through the aid of ab initio computational modeling. / Physics

The electronic and magnetic structure of the colossal magneto resistance material La1-xSrxMnO3, the high-k and strain tailoring compounds REScO3 (Sm, Gd, Dy) and the multiferroic LuFe2O4 was investigated by means of x-ray spectroscopic techniques. SQUID measurements of La1-xSrxMnO3 (x = 0.125, 0.17, 0.36) were compared with XMCD results. The very good agreement between these two experiments proofs the applicability of the correction factor for the spin magnetic moment and the importance of charge transfer. The magnetic moment measured by SQUID and that determined from XMCD proofs that the magnetic moment is completely localized at the Mn ions for different temperatures and magnetic fields. For x = 0.125 the orbital magnetic moment determined from XMCD corresponds to the structural changes in the phase diagram. Additionally the measured orbital moments correspond to anomalies in magnetization versus temperature curves. The magnetic and electronic structure of the rare earth scandates (SmScO3, GdScO3 and DyScO3) were investigated by means of XPS, XES, XAS, SQUID and neutron powder diffraction. The magnetic measurements reveal antiferromagnetic coupling at low temperatures in agreement with neutron diffraction data. With XAS and XES at the O K-edge in comparison with band structure calculations of the unoccupied oxygen states, the band gaps of REScO3 were determined and it was found that these values are corresponding to the Sc-O mean distances. The electronic and magnetic structure of LuFe2O4 was presented. The valence state of Fe ions was determined to 50% divalent and 50% trivalent by XPS of Fe 2p and 3s levels. The big orbital magnetic moment found by XMCD could explain a discrepancy between the magnetic measurements and the spin configuration, which was confirmed by XMCD.

Oxidische Materialien bieten ein weites Spektrum an möglichen Anwendungen. Vor allem Isolatoren mit Perowskitstruktur eignen sich hervorragend für die optische Datenverarbeitung und -speicherung. Andere, leitende, Oxide können für die magnetische Datenspeicherung eingesetzt werden. Vorraussetzung für den praktischen Einsatz der Werkstoffe sind jedoch grundlegende Kenntnisse über deren mikroskopischen Eigenschaften und ablaufende Prozesse. Mittels Photoelektronen- und Röntgenspektroskopie können Aussagen über die elektronische Struktur getroffen werden. Die noch junge Methode der Fluoreszenz weicher Röntgenstrahlung (SXF) wurde zur Charakterisierung der elektronischen Struktur hinzugezogen. SXF-Messungen wurden an der Beamline 8.0.1 am ALS in Berkeley, Kalifornien, durchgeführt. An der Modellsubstanz MgO wurden Röntgenabsorptions- und Röntgenemissionsspektren an der Sauerstoffkante erstellt. Es zeigt sich eine hervorragende Übereinstimmung mit Modellrechnungen. Ein Bandmapping unter Ausnutzung von Resonanzphänomenen, ähnlich wie in Graphit, scheint jedoch nicht möglich zu sein. In TiO2 wurde das Ti 3d Niveau untersucht. Die Emissionsspetkren zeigen Verluststrukturen, deren Feinstruktur mit der berechneten rJDOS nachvollzogen werden konnte. In KNbO3 wurde der Beitrag der Nb 5p und O 2p-Zustandsdichte zum Valenzband untersucht. Es wurde versucht, die Anregungsenergieabhängigkeit der O 2p-Emissionsspektren mit der Bandstruktur in Verbindung zu bringen. In KTaO3 wurde erstmals der Ta 5d-pDOS-Anteil am Valenzband direkt nachgewiesen. Zudem weisen die anregungsenergieabhängigen Emissionsspektren Verluststrukturen auf, die auf eine O 2p-Ta 5d Interbandanregung schließen lassen. An Sr2FeMoO6 wurden erstmals XES-Messungen zur Bestimmung der elektronischen Struktur durchgeführt. Es zeigen sich hybridisierte O 2p-Mo 4d Zustände, die Leitungselektronen haben einen leichten Fe-Charakter. Eine gute Übereinstimmung mit Bandstrukturrechnungen wird beobachtet. Für photorefraktive Material Sn2P2S6 wurde die elektronische Struktur mittels XPS, XES und FP-LAW-Rechnungen detailliert bestimmt. An Fe-dotiertem Ba0.77Ca0.23TiO3 wurde mittels XPD unter erstmaliger Erstellung von Azimuthalspektren der Einbauplatz von Ca verifiziert und der Einbauplatz von Eisen bestimmt. Für beide Elemente ergibt sich ein vollständiger bzw. überwiegender Einbau auf dem Ba-Platz.

The presented thesis includes investigations to fully characterize the electronic structure and magnetic properties ofselected manganese containing high-spin molecules by means of various X-ray spectroscopic, magnetic and theoretical methods. The investigations on the Mn4 star-shaped molecule havelead to a number of interesting results. Magneto-chemical studies exhibit very weak exchange coupling constantsbetween the four Mn(II) ions, leading to complicated low lying states in which the ground state is not well separated, resulting from a dominant weak ferromagnetic coupling and a giant moment of up to 20 µB/f.u. XMCD measurements revealed that almost the completemagnetic moment is located around the Mn(II) ions.This is in agreement with only a few charge transfer states foundwithin the detailed X-ray absorption spectroscopic study. The electronic structure and detailed magnetic properties of the star-shaped heteronuclear CrIIIMnII3 complex have been precisely investigated.With XPS the homovalency of Mn and Cr have been verified. The XA-spectra of the manganese and chromium L edges were measured and compared to earlier investigated Mn4 spectra.The combination high-magnetic field magnetic measurements and element selective XMCD of Mn and Cr L edges and quantum model calculations lead to a complete analysis of the magnetic structure of the CrMn3 magnetic core. The III valence state of the manganese ions in MnIII6O2Salox has been verified. From X-ray diffraction, typical Jahn-Teller distorted oxygen octahedra have been found for Mn(III) ions. Comparisons of XPS and XAS spectra of the complex to corresponding spectraof maganite and tetranuclear manganese(II) cluster it was definitely possible to identify MnIII6O2Salox as a pure Mn(III) compound.