Abstract:

The synthesis of graphene sparked a “gold rush” to find other 2D materials with intriguing properties. Our early theoretical work on predicting silicene, germanene, and other 2D materials inspired experimental studies that resulted in the synthesis of these materials on specific substrates. Recently, our studies have focused on predicting novel 2D materials that are composed (solely or partially) of boron atoms, creating an excellent opportunity for wordplay used in the title of this talk. We will start by briefly introducing our main tool, Density Functional Theory, and how it helps reconcile a physicist’s many-body perspective with a chemist’s orbital view. Then, we will describe the novel boron structures, with an emphasis on our study of 2D diboron-dinitride, which has a direct band gap at around 1.7 eV. This property is highly tunable by strain engineering, making this material an excellent candidate for optoelectronic applications.

Short Biography of the Speaker:

Dr. Seymur Jahangirov is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Material Science and Nanotechnology (UNAM) and an affiliated faculty member of the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Graduate Program at Bilkent University. He holds a B.Sc. degree in Nuclear Engineering from Hacettepe University and a Ph.D. in Material Science and Nanotechnology from Bilkent University. Dr. Jahangirov carried out his postdoctoral studies at the Nano-Bio Spectroscopy Group in San Sebastian, Spain. He uses state-of-the-art computational tools based on Density Functional Theory to discover novel low-dimensional materials with intriguing properties. Dr. Jahangirov is the recipient of prestigious awards, including the Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship for Carrier Development from the Research Executive Agency of the European Commission, the TUBA-GEBIP Award from the Turkish Academy of Sciences, and the Distinguished Teaching Award from Bilkent University. His research has been published in top-tier journals, including Nature Materials, Physical Review Letters, 2D Materials, and Applied Physics Letters.