Ab-Initio Calculation of the Electrical Conductivity, Optical Absorption, and Reflectivity of the 2D Materials SnC and NbC

Using density functional theory (DFT), we performed first-principles calculations of the electrical conductivity, optical absorption, and reflectivity for the 2D carbides SnC and NbC. We calculated the electronic energy band structure of the materials. We performed the calculations without consideri...

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Main Authors: Nadxiieli Delgado, Osiris Salas, Erick Garcés, Luis Fernando Magaña
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-04-01
Series:Crystals
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/13/4/682
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author Nadxiieli Delgado
Osiris Salas
Erick Garcés
Luis Fernando Magaña
author_facet Nadxiieli Delgado
Osiris Salas
Erick Garcés
Luis Fernando Magaña
author_sort Nadxiieli Delgado
collection DOAJ
description Using density functional theory (DFT), we performed first-principles calculations of the electrical conductivity, optical absorption, and reflectivity for the 2D carbides SnC and NbC. We calculated the electronic energy band structure of the materials. We performed the calculations without considering the spin–orbit coupling (SOC) term and including it. We determined that 2D SnC is a semiconductor material and 2D NbC is a conductor. We compared the optical absorption and reflectivity with those of graphene. We found that the 2D SnC and graphene optical absorptions in the infrared region are similar and small; the corresponding values for 2D NbC are approximately ten times larger. In the visible range, the absorption values for 2D SnC and 2D NbC are of the same magnitude and much more significant than graphene. We found that the 2D NbC optical absorption for the ultraviolet region was close to zero. Graphene and 2D SnC have similar maximum values for absorption but at different energies. We determined that graphene reflectivity is larger but similar to that of 2D NbC, and that the 2D SnC reflectivity is near zero. Finally, the 2D NbC electrical conductivity value was about ten times larger than the corresponding value for 2D SnC. As expected, when there was a change of dimensionality, the related 3D materials showed a vastly different value for the electrical conductivity. The 2D materials showed conductivities significantly smaller than those of 3D materials in both cases. The results we obtained for 2D SnC and 2D NbC when we included the SOC term showed that the electrical conductivity for 2D SnC increased by 13.18% and 2D NbC by 18.16%. The optical properties changed, particularly the location of the peaks in the optical absorption and reflectivity.
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spelling doaj.art-b4c46fce075c45e6b3ea1e183a4fba4a2023-11-17T18:51:59ZengMDPI AGCrystals2073-43522023-04-0113468210.3390/cryst13040682Ab-Initio Calculation of the Electrical Conductivity, Optical Absorption, and Reflectivity of the 2D Materials SnC and NbCNadxiieli Delgado0Osiris Salas1Erick Garcés2Luis Fernando Magaña3Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal 20-364, Mexico City 01000, MexicoInstituto Politécnico Nacional, Escuela Superior de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica, Avenida Instituto Politécnico Nacional, S/N, Mexico City 07340, MexicoTecnológico Nacional de México, Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Ixtapaluca, Km. 7 Carretera Ixtapaluca-Coatepec, San Juan Coatepec, Ixtapaluca 56580, MexicoInstituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal 20-364, Mexico City 01000, MexicoUsing density functional theory (DFT), we performed first-principles calculations of the electrical conductivity, optical absorption, and reflectivity for the 2D carbides SnC and NbC. We calculated the electronic energy band structure of the materials. We performed the calculations without considering the spin–orbit coupling (SOC) term and including it. We determined that 2D SnC is a semiconductor material and 2D NbC is a conductor. We compared the optical absorption and reflectivity with those of graphene. We found that the 2D SnC and graphene optical absorptions in the infrared region are similar and small; the corresponding values for 2D NbC are approximately ten times larger. In the visible range, the absorption values for 2D SnC and 2D NbC are of the same magnitude and much more significant than graphene. We found that the 2D NbC optical absorption for the ultraviolet region was close to zero. Graphene and 2D SnC have similar maximum values for absorption but at different energies. We determined that graphene reflectivity is larger but similar to that of 2D NbC, and that the 2D SnC reflectivity is near zero. Finally, the 2D NbC electrical conductivity value was about ten times larger than the corresponding value for 2D SnC. As expected, when there was a change of dimensionality, the related 3D materials showed a vastly different value for the electrical conductivity. The 2D materials showed conductivities significantly smaller than those of 3D materials in both cases. The results we obtained for 2D SnC and 2D NbC when we included the SOC term showed that the electrical conductivity for 2D SnC increased by 13.18% and 2D NbC by 18.16%. The optical properties changed, particularly the location of the peaks in the optical absorption and reflectivity.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/13/4/6822D materials2D SnC2D NbCoptical propertieselectrical conductivity
spellingShingle Nadxiieli Delgado
Osiris Salas
Erick Garcés
Luis Fernando Magaña
Ab-Initio Calculation of the Electrical Conductivity, Optical Absorption, and Reflectivity of the 2D Materials SnC and NbC
Crystals
2D materials
2D SnC
2D NbC
optical properties
electrical conductivity
title Ab-Initio Calculation of the Electrical Conductivity, Optical Absorption, and Reflectivity of the 2D Materials SnC and NbC
title_full Ab-Initio Calculation of the Electrical Conductivity, Optical Absorption, and Reflectivity of the 2D Materials SnC and NbC
title_fullStr Ab-Initio Calculation of the Electrical Conductivity, Optical Absorption, and Reflectivity of the 2D Materials SnC and NbC
title_full_unstemmed Ab-Initio Calculation of the Electrical Conductivity, Optical Absorption, and Reflectivity of the 2D Materials SnC and NbC
title_short Ab-Initio Calculation of the Electrical Conductivity, Optical Absorption, and Reflectivity of the 2D Materials SnC and NbC
title_sort ab initio calculation of the electrical conductivity optical absorption and reflectivity of the 2d materials snc and nbc
topic 2D materials
2D SnC
2D NbC
optical properties
electrical conductivity
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/13/4/682
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AT erickgarces abinitiocalculationoftheelectricalconductivityopticalabsorptionandreflectivityofthe2dmaterialssncandnbc
AT luisfernandomagana abinitiocalculationoftheelectricalconductivityopticalabsorptionandreflectivityofthe2dmaterialssncandnbc