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.

Spin-orbit coupling (SOC) reduces the spatial symmetry of ferromagnetic solids. That is, the physical properties of ferromagnetic materials are anisotropic, depending on the magnetization direction. In this thesis, by means of numerical calculations with full-relativistic density functional theory, we studied two kinds of physical properties: surface magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE) and anisotropic thermoelectric power due to Lifshitz transitions. After a short introduction to the full-relativistic density functional theory in Chapter 2, the MAE of ferromagnetic thin films is studied in Chapter 3. For such systems, separation of different contributions, such as bulk magnetocrystalline anisotropy (MCA) energy, shape anisotropy energy, and surface/interface anisotropy energy, is crucial to gain better understanding of experiments. By fitting our calculating results for thick slabs to a phenomenological model, reliable surface MAE could be obtained. Following this idea, we have studied the MAE of Co slabs with different geometries, focusing on the effects of orbital polarization correction (OPC). We found that the surface anisotropy is mainly determined by the geometry. While OPC gives better results of orbital moments, it overestimates the MAE. In the second part of Chapter3, the effects of electric fields on the MAE of L10 ferromagnetic thin films are studied. Using a simple model to simulate the electric field, our calculations are in good agreement with previous experimental results. We predicted that for CoPt, even larger effects exist. Moreover, we found that it is the amount of screening charge that determines the magnetoelectric coupling effects. This gives us some clue about how to achieve electric field control of magnetization direction. In Chapter 4, Lifshitz transitions in L10 FePt caused by a canted magnetic field are studied. We found several Lifshitz transitions in ordered FePt with tiny features in DOS. Using a two-band model, it is demonstrated that at such transitions, the singular behaviour of kinetic properties is due to the interband scattering, and the singularity itself is proportional to the derivative of the singular DOS. For FePt, such singularity will be smeared into anomaly by chemical disorder. Using CPA, we studied the effects of energy level broadening for the critical bands in FePt. We found that for experimentally available FePt thin films, Lifshitz transitions would induce up to a 3% increase of thermopower as the magnetization is rotated from the easy axis to the hard axis. / Spin-Bahn-Kopplung reduziert die Symmetrie ferromagnetischer Festkörper. Das bedeutet, dass die physikalischen Eigenschaften ferromagnetischer Stoffe anisotrop bezüglich der Magnetisierungsrichtung sind. In dieser Dissertation werden mittels numerischer voll-relativistischer Dichtefunktional-Rechnungen zwei Arten physikalischer Eigenschaften untersucht: magnetische Oberflächen-Anisotropieenergie (MAE) und anisotrope Thermokraft durch Lifshitz-Übergänge. Nach einer kurzen Einführung in die relativistische Dichtefunktional-Theorie in Kapitel 2 wird in Kapitel 3 die MAE ferromagnetischer dünner Filme untersucht. In diesen Systemen ist es für ein Verständnis experimenteller Ergebnisse wichtig, verschiedene Beiträge zu separieren: Volumenanteil der magnetokristallinen Anisotropie (MCA), Formanistropie und Oberflächen bzw. Grenzflächenanisotropie. Durch Anpassen berechneter Daten für dicke Schichten an ein phänomenologisches Modell konnten verlässliche Oberflächen Anisotropien erhalten werden. In dieser Weise wurde die MAE von Co- Schichten mit unterschiedlichen Geometrien untersucht, wobei der Einfluss von Orbitalpolarisations-Korrekturen (OPC) im Vordergrund stand. Es wurde gefunden, dass die Oberflächenanisotropie hauptsächlich von der Geometrie bestimmt wird. Während OPC bessere Ergebnisse für die Orbitalmomente liefert, wird die MAE überschätzt. Im zweiten Teil von Kapitel 3 wird der Einfluss elektrischer Felder auf die MAE von dünnen ferromagnetischen Filmen mit L10-Struktur untersucht. Unter Verwendung eines einfachen Modells zur Simulation des elektrischen Feldes liefern die Rechnungen gute Übereinstimmung mit vorliegenden experimentellen Ergebnissen. Es wird vorhergesagt, dass für CoPt ein noch größerer Effekt existiert. Weiterhin wurde gefunden, dass die magnetoelektrische Kopplung von der Größe der Abschirmladung bestimmt wird. Dies ist eine wichtige Einsicht, um die Magnetisierungsrichtung durch ein elektrisches Feld kontrollieren zu können. In Kapitel 4 werden Lifshitz-Übergänge untersucht, die ein gekantetes Magnetfeld hervorruft. Es wurden mehrere Lifshitz-Übergänge in geordnetem FePt gefunden, welche kleine Anomalien in der Zustandsdichte hervorrufen. Mit Hilfe eines Zweiband-Modells wird gezeigt, dass an solchen Übergängen das singuläre Verhalten kinetischer Eigenschaften durch Interband- Streuung verursacht wird und dass die Singularität proportional zur Ableitung der singulären Zustandsdichte ist. In FePt wird durch chemische Unordnung diese Singularität zu einer Anomalie verschmiert. Der Einfluss einer Verbreiterung der Energieniveaus der kritischen Bänder in FePt wurde mittels CPA untersucht. Es wurde gefunden, dass in experimentell verfügbaren dünnen FePt-Filmen Lifshitz-Übergänge bis zu 3% Erhöhung der Thermokraft erzeugen, wenn die Magnetisierung von der leichten in die harte Richtung gedreht wird.

The present work is a theoretical ab initio study of silicon (mainly) and silicon-based or “silicon-like” Nanocrystals and nanostructures, such as core/shell quantum dots and ultra-thin nanowires of Si, Ge, and Sn. The main focus is on the quantum confinement of Si quantum dots and the description of their structural, cohesive, electronic, and optical properties in terms of size, growth pattern and surface conditions. An important outcome of such study, besides the very satisfactory agreement with experimental measurements for nanocrystals (up to 32 Å in diameter), is the judicious extrapolation of the nanoscale results all the way to infinite silicon crystal, and the successful comparison with experiment (for both the energy gap and the cohesive energy of crystalline silicon). This is an additional verification for the essential correctness of our approach. Our present results, which are based on earlier findings of prof. Zdetsis’ group for spherical Si quantum dots, are in full agreement with those results and predictions. We have expanded our study to selective cases of pure C, Ge, Sn and their mixed nanocrystals and nanowires. Thus, the classes of systems studied here include: a) Silicon quantum dots terminated by hydrogen of three different growth models (spherical, elongated, and reconstructed) without and with oxygen “contamination” of four different modes (double bonds, bridging single bonds, hydroxyl formation and mixed modes). b) Analogous quantum dots, pure and mixed (core/shell) of C, Si, Ge, and Sn. c) Ultrafine silicon and germanium nanowires of various growth patterns. The majority of this work is based in density functional theory (DFT), both ground state and time-depended, using in most cases the hybrid functional of Becke, Lee, Parr and Yang (B3LYP), and in several places the PBE and PBE0 functionals. A limited number of calculations was performed with post SCF methods, such as many-body perturbation theory (MP2) or Coupled cluster CCSD(T), for comparison. For the study of Si and Ge nanowires we have also used properly selected (and tested) semiempirical methods and calculations. These theoretical methods and techniques are reviewed in considerable detail in the first three chapters (Part I) of the present thesis. The results of the calculations are discussed in Part II, divided in three Chapters (4-6). Chapter 4 is devoted to the structural, electronic, cohesive and elastic properties of ultrafine hydrogenated silicon and germanium nanowires. Chapter 5 describes the influence of the growth patterns and surface conditions on structural, cohesive, and electronic properties of silicon nanocrystals, as well as their size dependence all the way to infinity. This (very successful) size dependence, in full accord with quantum confinement, is also compared with the (poor) predictions of the BOLS correlation scheme. Finally, Chapter 6 deals with carbon, silicon, germanium, tin and their mixed core/shell quantum dots. / --

Quantum chemical calculations have been performed to investigate radical cation rearrangement, radical carbonylation, and homolytic substitution reactions of organic molecules. The rearrangement of the bicyclopropylidiene radical cation to the tetramethyleneethane radical cation is predicted to proceed with stepwise disrotatory opening of the two rings. Each ring opening is found to be combined with a striking pyramidalization of a carbon atom in the central bond. The isomerization of the norbornadiene radical cation to the cycloheptatriene radical cation (CHT.+), initialized by opening of a bridgehead–methylene bond, is investigated. The most favorable path involves concerted rearrangement to the norcaradiene radical cation followed by ring opening to CHT.+. The barrier of this channel is found to be significantly reduced upon substitution of the methylene group with C(CH3)2. Stepwise mechanisms are predicted to be favored over concerted isomerization for the McLafferty rearrangement of the radical cations of butanal and 3-fluorobutanal. The barrier for the concerted rearrangement is found to be lowered by 17.2 kcal/mol upon substitution, a result which is rationalized by the calculated dipole moments and atomic charges. Recent experiments showed that photoinitiated carbonylation of alkyl iodides with [11C]carbon monoxide may be significantly enhanced by using small amounts of ketones that have nπ* character of their excited triplet state. DFT calculations show the feasibility of an atom transfer type mechanism, proposed to explain these observations. Moreover, the computational results rationalize the observed differences in yield when using various alcohol solvents. Finally, following photolysis of methyliodide, recent electron spin resonance spectroscopy experiments demonstrated that the SH2 reaction •CD3 + SiD3CH3 → CD3SiD3 + •CH3 proceeds with high selectivity over the energetically more favorable D abstraction. The role of geometrical effects, especially the formation of prereactive complexes between methylsilane and methyliodide is studied, and a plausible explanation for the experimentally observed paradox is presented.

Cette thèse présente une série d'études qui visent la compréhension de la structure électronique de complexes de métaux de transition en employant diverses méthodes de spectroscopie. L'information sur la structure électronique aide à comprendre et développer des nouveaux matériaux, des nouvelles voies de synthèses, ainsi que des nouveaux modèles théoriques. Habituellement, afin d'explorer la structure électronique d'un système qui comporte en son centre un métal de transition, l'information fournie par les spectres d'un seul composé n'est pas suffisante. On étudie une série de composés similaires, qui ont le même métal de transition à un degré d'oxydation donné, ainsi que des ligands qui forment des liaisons de différentes forces et caractéristiques avec le métal. Cependant, ces changements, bien qu'on les désire de faible impact, créent une grande perturbation de la structure électronique visée par les études. Afin d'étudier en profondeur une seule structure électronique, nous employons une stratégie d'analyse moins perturbante. Nous appliquons une pression hydrostatique sur les complexes de métaux de transition. Cette pression perturbe le système suffisamment pour nous livrer davantage d'informations sur la structure électronique, sans la « dénaturer ». Afin d'étudier précisément ces systèmes perturbés, la technique d'application de pression est conjuguée, dans la littérature, aux diverses techniques de spectroscopie d'absorption UV-visible, de luminescence, ainsi que de diffusion Raman. Pour extraire un maximum d'informations de ces expériences, on emploie des techniques de calculs de structure électronique ainsi que de dynamique des noyaux. Dans cette thèse, on tente de mettre en lumière la structure électronique de composés de molybdène(IV), de platine(II) et palladium(II) à l'aide de la technique de pression couplée aux spectroscopies de luminescence et de diffusion Raman. Dans le chapitre 3, on observe un déplacement de la bande de luminescence de +12 cm-1/kbar entre la pression ambiante et 25 kbar pour le complexe trans-[MoOCl(CN-t-Bu)4]BPh4, dont le centre métallique molybdène(IV)est de configuration électronique 4d2. Il s'agit de la première variation positive observée pour un complexe de type métal-oxo. À des pressions plus élevées, la tendance s'inverse. Le maximum d'énergie de la bande de luminescence se déplace de -8 cm-1/kbar. Ce changement de variation présage d'une compétition interne entre les ligands situés sur les différents axes de l'octaèdre. À l'aide de calculs basés sur la théorie de la fonctionnelle de la densité, on propose un mécanisme pour expliquer ce phénomène. Au cours du chapitre 4, on étudie des complexes de palladium(II) et de platine(II) qui ont les mêmes ligands. Un de ces ligands est le 1,4,7-trithiacyclononane (ttcn). On constate qu'à basse pression le ligand est bidentate. Par contre, lorsque la pression augmente, on constate, par exemple à l'aide du complexe [Pt(ttcn)Cl2], qu'une interaction anti-liante supplémentaire se produit entre le ligand ttcn et le métal, ce qui change la nature de l'orbitale HOMO. On observe un déplacement de la bande de luminescence de -19 cm-1/kbar. Tel que pour le complexe de molybdène(IV), le déplacement de la bande de luminescence dépend de la compétition entre les ligands situés sur les différents axes de l'octaèdre. L'interaction liante entre l'ion platine(II) et l'atome de soufre axial est l'effet le plus plausible qui peut induire un déplacement de la bande de luminescence vers les basses énergies. Ceci nous indique que cette interaction domine. Par contre, pour ce qui est du complexe palladium(II), la compétition est remportée par d'autres effets, car le déplacement de la bande de luminescence est de +6 cm-1/kbar. Encore une fois, des calculs, basés sur la théorie de la fonctionnelle de la densité, aident à explorer les causes de ces observations en suggérant des explications corroborées simultanément par les diverses expériences de spectroscopie. Lors du chapitre 5, une étude plus exacte de la structure électronique ainsi que de la dynamique des noyaux de complexes de métaux de transition est présentée. En effet, les complexes de palladium(II) et de platine(II), de type [M(X)4]2-, ont une structure simple, très symétrique. Le premier état excité de ces molécules subit la distorsion Jahn-Teller. On veut établir un protocole de travail pour les expérimentateurs afin d'analyser des spectres de molécules pour lesquelles l'approximation de Born-Oppenheimer n'est pas valide. On utilise la théorie de la fonctionnelle de la densité dépendante du temps ainsi que le modèle de Heidelberg afin de décrire des effets non adiabatique. On tente d'établir l'influence des effets non adiabatiques sur les spectres de ce type de complexe. / The main goal of this thesis is to study the electronic structure of different transition metal complexes using spectroscopic methods. The detailed knowledge of the electronic structure helps to understand and develop new materials, new synthesis methods as well as new theoretical models. Usually, the information gathered from spectra of a single compound is not sufficient to identify the most important influences determining its electronic structure. Historically, in order to collect more information on transition complexes, series of similar compounds with the same metal center and oxidation state and varying ligands have been explored. This approach allows some trends that are directly related to the electronic structure of the metal center to be identified. The changes induced on the electronic structure by the ligand modifications are often larger than desired. We want to study continuous variations of the electronic structure specific to one compound with an experimental method that only slightly perturbs the structure. Hydrostatic pressure, as reported in the literature, modifies the electronic structure sufficiently to change UV-visible absorption, luminescence and Raman spectra. The changes are revealing electronic information on the compound. In order to analyze these experiments, we are using electronic structure and nuclear dynamics calculations. In this thesis, we explore the electronic structure of molybdenum(IV), platinum(II) and palladium(II) complexes. In chapter 3, we observe a +12 cm-1/kbar shift of the luminescence band from trans-[MoOCl(CN-t-Bu)4]BPh4 between ambient pressure and 25 kbar. The molybdenum(IV) metal ion in this complex has a 4d2 electronic configuration. It is the first time that a positive pressure-induced shift of the d-d luminescence maximum is recorded for a metal-oxo complex. On the same system, at higher pressure, the sign of the shift changes. This behavior is due to the competition between the different ligands of this six-coordinate compound. Density functional calculations are used to rationalize this phenomenon. In chapter 4, we study palladium(II) and platinum(II) complexes having the same ligands. The most important ligand for these complexes is 1,4,7-trithiacyclononane (ttcn). At low pressure, this ligand is bidentate. At high pressure, an additional antibonding interaction between the metal and the axial ttcn sulfur atom in the [Pt(ttcn)Cl2] complex modifies the nature of the HOMO orbital. This is illustrated by the measured red shift of the luminescence band maximum of -19 cm-1/kbar. As in the molybdenum(IV) complex, the shift illustrates the competition in the electronic structure between all ligands. The platinum(II)-sulfur axial interaction is the most plausible cause of the red shift. On the other hand, the corresponding palladium(II) complex exhibits a blue shift of +6 cm-1/kbar. In this case, the axial interaction does not appear to dominate the other interactions. Again electronic structure calculations help to establishing a model that explains the observations from diff erent spectroscopic experiments. Chapter 5 presents a more detailed study of the electronic structure and the nuclear dynamics of palladium(II) and platinum(II) complexes having a simpler structure than the compounds in the previous chapters. The first excited electronic state of these compounds exhibits a Jahn-Teller distortion. We desire to establish a workflow for experimentalists to allow them to analyze spectra in which the Born-Oppenheimer approximation is not valid. Time-dependent density functional theory is combined with the Heidelberg model for nuclear dynamics in order to study the non-adiabatic effects. Our goal is to advance our knowledge of such effects on transition metal complexes.

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.

La présente thèse porte sur l'utilité de la théorie de la fonctionnelle de la densité dans le design de polymères pour applications photovoltaïques. L'étude porte d'abord sur le rôle des calculs théoriques pour la caractérisation des polymères dans le cadre de collaborations entre la théorie et l'expérience. La stabilité et les niveaux énergétiques de certaines molécules organiques sont étudiés avant et après la sulfuration de leurs groupements carbonyles, un procédé destiné à diminuer le band gap. Les propriétés de dynamique électronique, de séparation des porteurs de charges et de spectres de vibrations Raman sont également explorées dans un polymère à base de polycarbazole. Par la suite, l'utilité des calculs théoriques dans le design de polymères avant leurs synthèses est considérée. La théorie de la fonctionnelle de la densité est étudiée dans le cadre du modèle de Scharber afin de prédire l'efficacité des cellules solaires organiques. Une nouvelle méthode de design de polymères à faible band gaps, basée sur la forme structurale aromatique ou quinoide est également présentée, dont l'efficacité surpasse l'approche actuelle de donneur-accepteur. Ces études sont mises à profit dans l'exploration de l'espace moléculaire et plusieurs candidats de polymères aux propriétés électroniques intéressantes sont présentés. / This thesis focuses on the role of density functional theory in the design of polymers for photovoltaic applications. Theoretical calculations are first studied in the characterization of polymers in the context of collaborations between theory and experiment. The stability and the energy levels of some organic molecules are studied before and after a sulfurization of their carbonyl groups, a process destined to lower the band gaps. The dynamics of the electronic processes and the Raman vibration spectra are also explored in a polycarbazole-based polymer. From then, the usefulness of theoretical calculations in the design of polymers before their syntheses is explored. Density functional theory calculations are studied under the Scharber model in order to predict the efficiency of organic solar cells. Then, a new approach for the design of low band gap polymer based on the aromatic or quinoid structures is established, whose efficiency surpasses the actual donor-acceptor approach. These studies are used in the exploration of the chemical space and several candidate for polymers with interesting electronic properties are presented.

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.

In this work, the electronic band structure of III (In, Al, Ga) - V (N, As, Sb) compounds and their ternary alloys have been investigated by density functional theory (DFT) within generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and empirical tight binding (ETB) calculations, respectively. The present DFT-GGA calculations have shown direct band gap structures in zinc-blende phase for InN, InAs, InSb, GaN, and GaAs. However, indirect band gap structures have been obtained for cubic AlN, AlSb and AlAs com- pounds / here, the conduction band minima of both AlN and AlAs are located at X symmetry point, while that of AlSb is at a position lying along Gamma- X direction. An important part of this work consists of ETB calculations which have been parameterized for sp3d2 basis and nearest neighbor interactions to study the band gap bowing of III(In / Al)- V(N / As / Sb) ternary alloys. This ETB model provides a satisfactory electronic properties of alloys within reasonable calculation time compared to the calculations of DFT. Since the present ETB energy parameters reproduce successfully the band structures of the compounds at &iexcl / and X symme- try points, they are considered reliable for the band gap bowing calculations of the ternary alloys. In the present work, the band gap engineering of InNxAs1&iexcl / x, InNxSb1&iexcl / x, InAsxSb1&iexcl / x, Al1&iexcl / xInxN, Al1&iexcl / xInxSb and Al1&iexcl / xInxAs alloys has been studied for total range of constituents (0 &lt / x &lt / 1). The downward band gap bowing seems the largest in InNxAs1&iexcl / x alloys among the alloys considered in this work. A metallic character of InNxAs1&iexcl / x, InNxSb1&iexcl / x and InAsxSb1&iexcl / x has been ob- tained in the present calculations for certain concentration range of constituents (N / As) as predicted in the literature. Even for a small amount of contents (x), a decrease of the electronic e&reg / ective mass around &iexcl / symmetry point appears for InNxAs1-x, InNxSb1-x and InAsxSb1-x alloys manifesting itself by an increase of the band curvature. The calculated cross over from indirect to direct band gap of ternary Al alloys has been found to be consistent with the measurements. As a last summary, the determinations of the band gaps of alloys as a function of contents, the concentration range of con- stituents leading to metallic character of the alloys, the change of the electronic effective mass around the Brillioun zone center (Gamma) as a function of alloy contents, the cross over from indirect to direct band gap of the alloys which are direct on one end, indirect on the other end, are main achievements in this work, indispensable for the development of mate- rials leading to new modern circuit components.

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.