This thesis presents significant advances in the imaging and theory of the ultrafast dynamics of surface plasmon polariton fields. The author details construction of a sub-10 femtosecond and sub-10 nanometer spatiotemporal resolution ultrafast photoemission microscope which is subsequently used for the discovery of topological meron and skyrmion-like plasmonic quasiparticles. In particular, this enabled the creation of movies of the surface plasmon polariton fields evolving on sub-optical wavelength scales at around 0.1 femtosecond per image frame undergoing vortex phase evolution. The key insight that the transverse spin of surface plasmon polaritons undergoes a texturing into meron or skyrmion-like topological quasiparticles (defined by the geometric charge of the preparation) follows. In addition, this thesis develops an analytical theory of these new topological quasiparticles, opening new avenues of research, while the ultrafast microscopy techniques established within will also be broadly applicable to studies of nanoscale optical excitations in electronic materials.

This textbook introduces the reader to quantum theory and quantum chemistry. The textbook is meant for 2nd - 3rd year bachelor students of chemistry or physics, but also for students of related disciplines like materials science, pharmacy, and bioinformatics. At first, quantum theory is introduced, starting with experimental results that made it inevitable to go beyond classical physics. Subsequently, the Schroedinger equation is discussed in some detail. Some few examples for which the Schroedinger equation can be solved exactly are treated with special emphasis on relating the results to real systems and interpreting the mathematical results in terms of experimental observations. Ultimately, approximate methods are presented that are used when applying quantum theory in the field of quantum chemistry for the study of real systems like atoms, molecules, and crystals. Both the foundations for the different methods and a broader range of examples of their applications are presented. The textbook assumes no prior knowledge in quantum theory. Moreover, special emphasis is put on interpreting the mathematical results and less on an exact mathematical derivations of those. Finally, each chapter closes with a number of questions and exercises that help in focusing on the main results of the chapter. Many of the exercises include answers.

This book presents an original investigation into alternative photovoltaic absorbers. Solar power is a highly promising renewable energy solution; however, its success is hampered by the limited cost-effectiveness of current devices. The book assesses the photovoltaic performance of over 20 materials using state-of-the-art, first-principles methods. Adopting a computational approach, it investigates atomic-scale properties at a level of accuracy that is difficult to achieve using laboratory-based experimental techniques. Unlike many theoretical studies, it provides specific advice to those involved in experimental investigations. Further, it proposes directions for future research. This book advances the field of photovoltaics in three crucial ways: firstly, it identifies why one class of proposed materials cannot achieve high efficiency, while at the same time gaining insights that can be used to design future absorbers. Secondly, it shows that poor performance in the bismuth chalcohalides is not due to fundamental limitations, and can be overcome by finely controlling synthesis conditions. Lastly, it describes a range of new stable materials that are expected to show excellent photovoltaic performance.

This book provides a graduate-level introduction to three powerful and closely related techniques in condensed matter physics: memory functions, projection operators, and the defect technique. Memory functions appear in the formalism of the generalized master equations that express the time evolution of probabilities via equations non-local in time, projection operators allow the extraction of parts of quantities, such as the diagonal parts of density matrices in statistical mechanics, and the defect technique allows solution of transport equations in which the translational invariance is broken in small regions, such as when crystals are doped with impurities. These three methods combined form an immensely useful toolkit for investigations in such disparate areas of physics as excitation in molecular crystals, sensitized luminescence, charge transport, non-equilibrium statistical physics, vibrational relaxation, granular materials, NMR, and even theoretical ecology. This book explains the three techniques and their interrelated nature, along with plenty of illustrative examples. Graduate students beginning to embark on a research project in condensed matter physics will find this book to be a most fruitful source of theoretical training.

This book explores how structure impacts the dynamics of organic molecules in an extensive and impressive range of femtosecond time-resolved experiments that are combined with state-of-the-art theoretical approaches. It explores an area of molecular dynamics that remains largely uncharted and provides an extraordinary overview, along with novel insights into the concept of the dynamophore - the functional group of ultrafast science. Divided into four parts, this book outlines both experimental and computational studies on the VUV photoinduced dynamics of four cyclic ketones and one linear ketone, the ring-opening and dissociative dynamics of cyclopropane, and the potential ultrafast intersystem crossing in three methylated benzene derivatives. Model systems for the disulfide bond and the peptide bond, both of which are related to the structure of proteins, are also investigated. This highly informative and carefully presented book offers a wealth of scientific insights for all scholars with an interest in molecular dynamics.

This book is dedicated to recent advancements in theoretical and computational studies on the interactions of hydrogen and hydrogenated molecules with metal surfaces. These studies are driven by the development of high-performance computers, new experimental findings, and the extensive work of technological applications towards the realization of a sustainable hydrogen economy. Understanding of the elementary processes of physical and chemical reactions on the atomic scale is important in the discovery of new materials with high chemical reactivity and catalytic activity, as well as high stability and durability. From this point of view, the book focuses on the behavior of hydrogen and hydrogenated molecules on flat, stepped, and reconstructed metal surfaces. It also tackles the quantum mechanical properties of hydrogen and related adsorbates; namely, molecular orbital angular momentum (spin) and diffusion along the minimum potential energy landscape on metal surfaces. All of these profoundly influence the outcomes of (1) catalytic reactions that involve hydrogen; (2) hydrogen storage in metals; and (3) hydrogen purification membranes. Lastly, it surveys the current status of the technology, outlook, and challenges for the long-desired sustainable hydrogen economy in relation to the topics covered in the book.

This essential volume explores a variety of tools and protocols of structure-based (homology modeling, molecular docking, molecular dynamics, protein-protein interaction network) and ligand-based (pharmacophore mapping, quantitative structure-activity relationships or QSARs) drug design for ranking and prioritization of candidate molecules in search of effective treatment strategy against coronaviruses. Beginning with an introductory section that discusses coronavirus interactions with humanity and COVID-19 in particular, the book then continues with sections on tools and methodologies, literature reports and case studies, as well as online tools and databases that can be used for computational anti-coronavirus drug research. Written for the Methods in Pharmacology and Toxicology series, chapters include the kind of practical detail and implementation advice that ensures high quality results in the lab. Comprehensive and timely, In Silico Modeling of Drugs Against Coronaviruses: Computational Tools and Protocols is an ideal reference for researchers working on the development of novel anti-coronavirus drugs for SARS-CoV-2 and for coronaviruses that will likely appear in the future.

This book reviews the most significant advances in concepts, methods, and applications of quantum systems in a broad variety of problems in modern chemistry, physics, and biology. In particular, it discusses atomic, molecular, and solid structure, dynamics and spectroscopy, relativistic and correlation effects in quantum chemistry, topics of computational chemistry, physics and biology, as well as applications of theoretical chemistry and physics in advanced molecular and nano-materials and biochemical systems. The book contains peer-reviewed contributions written by leading experts in the fields and based on the presentations given at the Twenty-Fourth International Workshop on Quantum Systems in Chemistry, Physics, and Biology held in Odessa, Ukraine, in August 2019. This book is aimed at advanced graduate students, academics, and researchers, both in university and corporation laboratories, interested in state-of-the-art and novel trends in quantum chemistry, physics, biology, and their applications.

This book summarizes the state of the art in the theoretical modeling of inorganic nanostructures. Extending the first edition, published in 2015, it presents applications to new nanostructured materials and theoretical explanations of recently discovered optical and thermodynamic properties of known nanomaterials. It discusses the developments in theoretical modeling of nanostructures, describing fundamental approaches such as symmetry analysis and applied calculation methods. The book also examines the theoretical aspects of many thermodynamic and the optical properties of nanostructures. The new edition includes additional descriptions of the theoretical modeling of nanostructures in novel materials such as the V2O5 binary oxide, ZnS, CdS, MoSSe and SnS2.

Algebraic Methods in Quantum Chemistry and Physics provides straightforward presentations of selected topics in theoretical chemistry and physics, including Lie algebras and their applications, harmonic oscillators, bilinear oscillators, perturbation theory, numerical solutions of the Schrödinger equation, and parameterizations of the time-evolution operator.
The mathematical tools described in this book are presented in a manner that clearly illustrates their application to problems arising in theoretical chemistry and physics. The application techniques are carefully explained with step-by-step instructions that are easy to follow, and the results are organized to facilitate both manual and numerical calculations.

Algebraic Methods in Quantum Chemistry and Physics demonstrates how to obtain useful analytical results with elementary algebra and calculus and an understanding of basic quantum chemistry and physics.

This book presents a comprehensive overview of the fundamental concept, design, working protocols, and diverse photo-chemicals aspects of different solar cell systems with promising prospects, using computational and experimental techniques. It presents and demonstrates the art of designing and developing various solar cell systems through practical examples. Compared to most existing books in the market, which usually analyze existing solar cell approaches this volume provides a more comprehensive view on the field. Thus, it offers an in-depth discussion of the basic concepts of solar cell design and their development, leading to higher power conversion efficiencies. The book will appeal to readers who are interested in both fundamental and application-oriented research while it will also be an excellent tool for graduates, researchers, and professionals working in the field of photovoltaics and solar cell systems.

This book reviews some of the latest developments in the field of water treatment using multi-functional chitosan-based materials. It covers the production of chitosan beads and membranes from chitosan powder, as well as modification techniques for enhancing the material for commercial and industrial purposes. The book summarizes the results of experimental adsorption/desorption studies for elucidating the underlying reaction mechanism of heavy-metal removal from wastewater, presenting an advanced overview of an array of characterization techniques such as Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, x-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. Additionally, it features a look at the development and application of specialized engineering software and image analysis for modelling the kinetics of adsorption. This book is ideal for scientists and engineers working in the broader field of environmental materials science. It is all well suited for chemists, as well as industrial and civil engineers, interested in wastewater treatment and mitigation of water pollution

This book discusses recent advances in theoretical-computational studies on the biosynthesis of melanin pigment (melanogenesis). These advances are being driven by the development of high-performance computers, new experimental findings, and extensive work on medical applications involving the control of pigmentation and the treatment of challenging dermatological diseases. Understanding the elementary processes involved in chemical reactions at the atomic scale is important in biochemical reaction design for effective control of the pigmentary system. Accordingly, the book focuses on the elementary steps involved in melanogenesis, which crucially affect the composition of the resulting melanin pigment by means of competitive reactions. The book also addresses reactions analogous to melanogenesis, with a focus on o-quinone reactions, which are especially important for understanding melanogenesis-associated cytotoxicity.

This book covers intentional design aspects for combinations of drugs, single-molecule hybrids with potential or actual multiple actions, pro-drugs which could yield multiple activity outcomes, and future possibilities. The approach of the book is interdisciplinary, and it provides greater understanding of the complex interplay of factors involved in the medicinal chemistry design and laboratory development of multiply active antibacterials. The scope of the book appeals to readers who are researching in the field of antibacterials using the approach of medicinal chemistry design and drug development.

"Chemists familiar with conventional quantum mechanics will applaud and benefit greatly from this particularly instructive, thorough and clearly written exposition of density functional theory: its basis, concepts, terms, implementation, and performance in diverse applications. Users of DFT for structure, energy, and molecular property computations, as well as reaction mechanism studies, are guided to the optimum choices of the most effective methods. Well done!"
Paul von Rague Schleyer
"A conspicuous hole in the computational chemist's library is nicely filled by this book, which provides a wide-ranging and pragmatic view of the subject.[...It] should justifiably become the favorite text on the subject for practitioners who aim to use DFT to solve chemical problems."
J. F. Stanton, J. Am. Chem. Soc.
"The authors' aim is to guide the chemist through basic theoretical and related technical aspects of DFT at an easy-to-understand theoretical level. They succeed admirably."
P. C. H. Mitchell, Appl. Organomet. Chem.
"The authors have done an excellent service to the chemical community. [...] A Chemist's Guide to Density Functional Theory is exactly what the title suggests. It should be an invaluable source of insight and knowledge for many chemists using DFT approaches to solve chemical problems."
M. Kaupp, Angew. Chem.

In handbook form, this reference monograph provides both experimental and theoretical data describing thermodynamic properties of groups of isomers of different classes, particularly for organic compound reactions. Data have been derived through chemical equilibria studies, statistical thermodynamics, and to some degree, calorimetry. Data based on equilibria studies are also valuable as a cross-check to thermodynamic functions derived purely from calorimetric measurements.

This book provides a unique and comprehensive overview of the latest advances, challenges and accomplishments in the rapidly growing field of theoretical and computational materials science. Today, an increasing number of industrial communities rely more and more on advanced atomic-scale methods to obtain reliable predictions of materials properties, complement qualitative experimental analyses and circumvent experimental difficulties. The book examines some of the latest and most advanced simulation techniques currently available, as well as up-to-date theoretical approaches adopted by a selected panel of twelve international research teams. It covers a wide range of novel and advanced materials, exploring their structural, elastic, optical, mass and electronic transport properties. The cutting-edge techniques presented appeal to physicists, applied mathematicians and engineers interested in advanced simulation methods in materials science. The book can also be used as additional literature for undergraduate and postgraduate students with majors in physics, chemistry, applied mathematics and engineering.

Proteins are exposed to various interfacial stresses during drug product development. They are subjected to air-liquid, liquid-solid, and, sometimes, liquid-liquid interfaces throughout the development cycle-from manufacturing of drug substances to storage and drug delivery. Unlike small molecule drugs, proteins are typically unstable at interfaces where, on adsorption, they often denature and form aggregates, resulting in loss of efficacy and potential immunogenicity. This book covers both the fundamental aspects of proteins at interfaces and the quantification of interfacial behaviors of proteins. Importantly, this book introduces the industrial aspects of protein instabilities at interfaces, including the processes that introduce new interfaces, evaluation of interfacial instabilities, and mitigation strategies. The audience that this book targets encompasses scientists in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry, as well as faculty and students from academia in the surface science, pharmaceutical, and medicinal chemistry areas.

This edited, multi-author book gathers selected, peer-reviewed contributions based on papers presented at the 23rd International Workshop on Quantum Systems in Chemistry, Physics, and Biology (QSCP-XXIII), held in Mopani Camp, The Kruger National Park, South Africa, in September 2018. The content is primarily intended for scholars, researchers, and graduate students working at universities and scientific institutes who are interested in the structure, properties, dynamics, and spectroscopy of atoms, molecules, biological systems, and condensed matter.

This book is designed to serve as a textbook for core courses offered to postgraduate students enrolled in chemistry. This book can also be used as a core or supplementary text for nuclear chemistry courses offered to students of chemical engineering. The book covers various topics of nuclear chemistry like Shell model, fission/fusion reaction, natural radioactive equilibrium series, nuclear reactions carried by various types of accelerators. In addition, it describes the law of decay of radioactivity, type of decay, and interaction of radiation with matter. It explains the difference between ionization counter, scintillation counter and solid state detector. This book also consists of end-of-book problems to help readers aid self-learning. The detailed coverage and pedagogical tools make this an ideal textbook for postgraduate students and researchers enrolled in various chemistry and engineering courses. This book will also be beneficial for industry professionals in the allied fields.

This volume summarises recent developments and highlights new techniques which will define possible future directions for small molecule X-ray crystallography. It provides an insight into how specific aspects of crystallography are developing and shows how they may interact or integrate with other areas of science. The development of more sophisticated equipment and the massive rise in computing power has made it possible to solve the three-dimensional structure of an organic molecule within hours if not minutes. This successful trajectory has resulted in the ability to study ever more complex molecules and use smaller and smaller crystals. The structural parameters for over a million organic and organometallic compounds are now archived in the most commonly used database and this wealth of information creates a new set of problems for future generations of scientists. The volume provides some insight into how users of crystallographic structural data banks can navigate their way through a world where "big data" has become the norm. The coupling of crystallography to quantum chemical calculations provides detailed information about electron distributions in crystals affording a much more detailed analysis of bonding than has been possible previously. In quantum crystallography, quantum mechanical wavefunctions are used to extract information about bonding and properties from the measured X-ray structure factors. The advent of quantum crystallography has resulted in form and structure factors derived from quantum mechanics which have been used in advanced refinement and wavefunction fitting. This volume describes how quantum mechanically derived atomic form factors and structure factors are constructed to allow the improved description of the diffraction experiment. It further discusses recent developments in this field and illustrates their applications with a wide range of examples. This volume will be of interest to chemists and crystallographers with an interest in the synthesis, characterisation and physical and catalytic properties of solid-state materials. It will also be relevant for the community of computational chemists who study chemical systems. Postgraduate students entering the field will benefit from a historical introduction to the way in which scientists have used the data derived from crystallography to develop new structural and bonding models.

This volume summarises recent developments and possible future directions for small molecule X-ray crystallography. It reviews specific areas of crystallography which are rapidly developing and places them in a historical context. The interdisciplinary nature of the technique is emphasised throughout. It introduces and describes the chemical crystallographic and synchrotron facilities which have been at the cutting edge of the subject in recent decades. The introduction of new computer-based algorithms has proved to be very influential and stimulated and accelerated the growth of new areas of science. The challenges which will arise from the acquisition of ever larger databases are considered and the potential impact of artificial intelligence techniques stressed. Recent advances in the refinement and analysis of X-ray crystal structures are highlighted. In addition the recent developments in time resolved single crystal X-ray crystallography are discussed. Recent years have demonstrated how this technique has provided important mechanistic information on solid-state reactions and complements information from traditional spectroscopic measurements. The volume highlights how the prospect of being able to routinely "watch" chemical processes as they occur provides an exciting possibility for the future. Recent advances in X-ray sources and detectors that have also contributed to the possibility of dynamic single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods are presented. The coupling of crystallography and quantum chemical calculations provides detailed information about electron distributions in crystals and has resulted in a more detailed understanding of chemical bonding. The volume will be of interest to chemists and crystallographers with an interest in the synthesis, characterisation and physical and catalytic properties of solid-state materials. Postgraduate students entering the field will benefit from a historical introduction to the subject and a description of those techniques which are currently used. Since X-ray crystallography is used so widely in modern chemistry it will serve to alert senior chemists to those developments which will become routine in coming decades. It will also be of interest to the broad community of computational chemists who study chemical systems.

This volume highlights the recent advances and state of art in the experimental and theoretical studies of organometallic magnets. A plethora of organic ligands such as Mannich-base derivatives, redox-active chromophores, cyanides, Schiff base among others are used to coordinate to 3d transition metals, 4f lanthanides and 5f actinides to design the molecular magnets. Deep analysis of the coordination sphere symmetry, electronic distribution, luminescence are investigated to perform magneto-structural correlation leading to a better understanding of the magnetic properties. Furthermore, the rationalization of the magnetic behavior can be reached using ab initio calculations. The multiple applications that these molecular magnets offer could revolutionize the high-density data storage, spintronics and quantum computing technologies. This volume provides a discussion of these topics from leading international experts and will be a useful reference for researchers working in this field.

This book deals with the basic principles and techniques of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics. The importance of this subject is growing rapidly in view of the advances being made, both experimentally and theoretically, in statistical physics, chemical physics, biological physics, complex systems and several other areas. The presentation of topics is quite self-contained, and the choice of topics enables the student to form a coherent picture of the subject. The approach is unique in that classical mechanical formulation takes center stage. The book is of particular interest to advanced undergraduate and graduate students in engineering departments.

This book uses experimental and computational methods to rationalize and predict for the first time the relative impact sensitivities of a range of energetic materials. Using knowledge of crystal structures, vibrational properties, energy-transfer mechanisms, and experimentally measured sensitivities, it describes a model that leads to excellent correlation with experimental results in all cases. As such, the book paves the way for a new, fully ab initio approach for the design of safer energetic materials based solely on knowledge of their solid-state structures. Energetic materials (explosives, propellants, gas generators, and pyrotechnics) are defined as materials that release heat and/or gaseous products at a high rate upon stimulus by heat, impact, shock, sparks, etc. They have widespread military and civilian uses, including munitions, mining, quarrying, demolition, emergency signaling, automotive safety, and space exploration. One of their most important properties is sensitivity to accidental initiation during manufacture, transport, storage, and operation, which has important implications for their safe use.