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Published on: October 12, 2019
Ab initio calculations for industrial materials engineering: successes and challenges
Erich Wimmer1, Reza Najafabadi, George A Young
1Materials Design, Inc., PO Box 2000, Angel Fire, NM 87710, USA. ewimmer@materialsdesign.com
Computational materials science using ab initio calculations aids experimental research by providing atomic-scale insights and material property data. Further advancements require enhanced accuracy and efficient exploration of complex material configurations.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Computational Physics
- Chemistry
Background:
- Computational materials science complements experimental work.
- Ab initio calculations offer atomic-scale understanding and quantitative data for materials properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate the utility of ab initio calculations in materials science.
- To investigate the effects of impurities, alloying elements, adsorption, diffusion, and composition on material properties.
Main Methods:
- Ab initio calculations were employed to study various material systems.
- Specific examples include Zr grain boundaries, Zr surfaces, Ni grain boundaries, and TiN-HfO(2) junctions.
Main Results:
- Calculations provided atomic-scale insights into impurity effects on Zr grain boundary strength.
- Investigated iodine adsorption/diffusion on Zr surfaces and oxygen diffusion in Ni.
- Analyzed work function changes in TiN-HfO(2) due to composition variations.
Conclusions:
- Ab initio computations are valuable for industrial R&D, offering atomic-level understanding and property data.
- Key challenges include improving electronic energy accuracy and exploring large configurational spaces.
- Future progress depends on hardware advances, theoretical innovations, and systematic large-scale computations.
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