Projects – Center for Solid State Physics and New Materials

Electric field and UV light assisted polymerization of 3D printed dental PMMA composite with graphene and hexagonal boron nitride

ToxoReTREAT

2D Material-based Tiled Network Films for Heritage Protection - 2DHeriPro

Dynamics of CDW transition in strained quasi-1D systems - DYNAMIQS

Synthesis and characterization of ternary Van der Waals MoxWx-1S2 nanotubes for advanced field emission application

Title: "Synthesis and characterization of ternary Van der Waals Mo_xW_x-1S₂ nanotubes for advanced field emission application"

Program: Bilateral project between Serbia and Slovenia
Project duration: 2023. - 2025.

PI: Bojana Višić

Inorganic layered materials, where atomic or molecular layers are formed by atoms held together in-plane by covalent or ionic bonds, and out-of-plane via weak van der Waals interactions, are abundant in nature. While readily found in a three-dimensional (3D) structure, these inorganic materials regained popularity when, after isolation of graphene in 2004, it was shown that they can be exfoliated as well in a 2D form (Novoselov et al., PNAS 102 (2005)). Furthermore, these materials have been synthesized in a nanotube (NT) or fullerene-like morphologies back in 1992, making them available in 3D, 2D and quasi-1D form (Tenne et al., Nature 360, 6403 (1992)). This family of materials is extremely versatile, as they can range from being paramagnetic, diamagnetic, ferro- or antiferromagnetic depending on the phase. Furthermore, their bandgaps can range from IR to UV throughout the visible range, making them metallic to semiconducting or insulating in nature. These properties make them interesting candidates for assembling into stacked heterostructures or alloys, combining the properties of individual material into a hybrid structure.

In this project, we will attempt a one-pot synthesis of ternary transitional metal dichalcogenides, with main focus on Mo_xW_1-xS₂and Nb_xTa_1-xS_2.The chemical transport reaction inside quartz ampules has been used at Institute Jozef Stefan (IJS) for pioneering syntheses of various inorganic nanotubes and nanowires. This approach will be modified in order to obtain hybrid materials in form of nanotubes or ribbons. The motivation behind this synthesis route is the simplicity behind the one-pot growth and the resulting highly crystalline structures. Here, by growing the material inside a closed quartz ampule at nearly equilibrium conditions and with very slow growth rate, one can minimize the density of inbuilt structural defects and simultaneously obtain different morphologies of the material: flakes, nanotubes, nanoribbons, and scrolls. Mo_xW_1-xS₂hybrid material is chosen as the starting material since the properties of both constituents (MoS₂ and WS₂) are well known, with the rising interest in their heterostructures in recent years.

Temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopy will be used to study the changes in phonon behaviour in such hybrid materials. Using density functional theory (DFT) calculations, the lattice dynamic will be studied. Their electrical properties will be determined and a single-nanotube transistor will be made. With field-effect transistors already prepared from both MoS2 and WS2 (Levi et al, Nano Lett 13 (2013); Fathipour, APL 106 (2015)), it can be expected that their hybrid has a potential as a component for optoelectronic devices. In the case of Nb_xTa_1-xS₂, since both NbS₂ and TaS₂ are materials that sustain charge density waves (CDW), their hybrid can be interesting to study with respect to modification of CDWs with composition change.

Elimination of respirable airborne particles, microplastics, microorganisms, and VOCs by ionization of indoor air and filtration systems: comprehensive investigation for reliable technological answers - IonCleanTech

Nonthermal Phase transitions in 2D Gallium Sulphide for Applications in Next-Generation Devices

Graphene-impregnated wood with increased biological resistance

Millimetre wave wireless systems featuring antennas with orbital angular momentum (OAM) multiplexing - OAM-MUX

Multiferroic Perovskite-Based Nanostructures for EMI Shielding and Photovoltaic Applications

COST CA20116 - European Network for Innovative and Advanced Epitaxy (OPERA)

Nano-objects in own matrix – Self composite (NOOM – SeC)

Title: "Nano-objects in own matrix – Self composite" (NOOM – SeC)

Program: IDEJE, Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia
Project duration: 2021 - 2024

PI: Dr Nebojša Romčević

With this project, a completely new type of the composite material, Self composite, will be introduced. A nanocomposite is a multiphase solid material where at least one of the phases has one, two or three dimensions of less than 100 nm. Nano-objects, such as nanoparticles, nanofiber and nanoplate, have the potential to revolutionizes the performance of materials and structures. However, their small scale means their (nano-objects) behavior is fundamentally different to that of bulk materials.

Our idea and goal is to produce Self composite in which the dispersed phase is in the nanometric size, with the specificity that the nano-object are formed from the same material, or its parts, such as matrix. Matrix is a multicomponent solid solution or compound which is formed from, for example, two binary components AB and AC. Monocrystal solid solution AB_1-xC_x, or similar compound, do not exist for every value of x, i.e., the solubility of one phase into the other is limited. The excess of component AC in the starting mixture (over the limit of its solubility) will cause the formation of the solid solution matrix AB_1-xC_x with the dispersed AC phase in the form of the nano-objects.

Self composites will be produced by using standard methods for the monocrystal growth – Czochralski and Bridgman. Molecular beam epitaxy will be used for the preparation of the thin films. Expected result of the Project is to produce the following self composites (matrix/nano-objects): Bi₁₂GeO₂₀/Bi₂O₃, Bi₁₂GeO₂₀/GeO₂, Bi₁₂SiO₂₀/Bi2O3, Bi₁₂SiO₂₀/SiO₂, Cd_1-xFe_xTe_1−ySe_y/FeTe, Pb_0.88Mn_0.12Te/MnTe, Cd_1-xMn_xTe/MnTe, Cd_1-xMn_xGeAs₂/MnAs, Zn_1-xMn_xSnAs₂/MnAs, Cd_1-xMn_xSnAs₂/MnAs, Pb_1-xSi_xSe_yTe_1-y/SiTe, Pb_1-x-ySi_xGd_yTe/GdTe. Synthesized self composites will be characterized and results will be analyzed in the frame of the effective medium theory. Functionality and potential application of these materials in the optics, magneto-optics, and in the field of the thermoelectric materials will be examined.

Continuous inactivation and removal of SARS-CoV-2 in indoor air by ionization - idCOVID

Strain Effects in Iron Chalcogenide Superconductors - StrainedFeSC

Title: „Strain Effects in Iron Chalcogenide Superconductors“ (StrainedFeSC)

Program: PROMIS, Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia

Project duration: 2020 - 2022

PI: Dr Nenad Lazarević

Project website: Strained FeSC (ipb.ac.rs)

Discovery of superconductivity in the Fe-based materials (FeBSCs) in 2008 brought new excitement in the field of high-Tc superconductors. It gave us new clues in the decades-long struggle for deciphering the mystery behind the high-Tc superconductors. Although much has been learned since, some of the key questions regarding the complex interplay between lattice, magnetism and superconductivity, are still controversial. While posing the challenge, close proximity of the phases in FeBCS can be facilitated through tuning of their properties by applying strain as an additional control parameter. Access to the various degrees of freedom can provide the valuable data needed, not only for pinpointing the generic properties and, possibly, understanding of the FeBSCs, but also for material/device engineering.

(a) Symmetry properties and momentum dependencies of the Raman vertices. Shown are the first and second order vertices for polarization orientations transforming as A1g, B1g and B2g symmetries of the D4h space group. The solid lines represent an idealized two-band Fermi surface of FeBSCs in the 1 Fe unit cell. (b) Phenomenological decomposition of the FeSe B1g Raman data at three characteristic temperatures.

Inelastic scattering of visible light (Raman effect) has the capability to simultaneously probe lattice, charge and spin excitations as well as their mutual interactions and is well established as an indispensable tool for research into high-Tc superconductors. The respective symmetry selection rules allow one to pin down the type of excitation and to get k-resolved information about the electrons [see Fig. (a)]. Through the linear combinations of spectra, measured for different polarization configurations, pure symmetry spectra are calculated [see Fig. (b)]. By varying parameters such as temperature and strain, valuable data incisive for understanding of these (multi-band) systems can be obtained.

While being the member of the FeBSC family with the simplest crystallographic structure, FeSe represents a fascinating example of the interplay between the phases. The superconducting transition temperature ranges from 8.9 K in the bulk to almost 100 K for a monolayer on SrTiO₃. This huge increase in Tc was traced back to the combination of different pairing mechanisms.

In the pure B_1g symmetry of FeSe single crystals Raman spectra, aside from the response from particle-hole excitations, a strong contribution at energies of order k_BT is observed with spectral weight peaking at the nematic phase transition [see Fig. (b)]. Currently, it is not settled whether the fluctuations observed by light scattering are related to spin or charge. Another controversy is about possible two-magnon excitations at about 500 cm^-1. Whilst this response can also originate from charge excitations, as in most of the Fe-based compounds, theory and experiment suggest that the observed high-energy excitations can be traced back to localized spins in a nearly frustrated system. If these controversies could be settled, the driving force behind the phase transitions in iron-chalcogenides would be identified.

Nanometer thin photovoltaics based on plasmonically enhanced van der Waals heterostructures - PV-Waals

Novel approach for designing V2O5-Based graphene nanocomposites: Enhanced energy storage and photocatalytic activity

Nano-reinforced wood for structural elements

Development of robust and efficient LOS-MIMO antenna arrays, adaptive beamforming algorithms, and high performance signal processing for 5G multigigabit broadband wireless communications - 5G-MIMO-Array

Nanoscale electrical properties of van der Waals heterostructures composed of two-dimensional materials and organic semiconductors

Development of a new type of device for electroporation of cells and tissues using ultra short electric pulses