Studies of nanostructured systems: crystalline, quasicrystalline and fractals: theory and experiment

• Grant number: 24/18150-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Program to Stimulate Scientific Vocations
• Start date: January 06, 2025
• End date: February 25, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Condensed Matter Physics
• Principal Investigator: Andrea Brito Latge
• Grantee: Juliana Eva Padilha
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física. Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF). Ministério da Educação (Brasil). Niterói , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Considering the great advances in recent years in the synthesis of nanostructured systems on very small scales, we propose to study crystalline and quasicrystalline materials in this project, as well as fractal systems. Our goal is to introduce some basic concepts and knowledge of crystal physics and show how the different symmetries and peculiarities of the networks can be used to obtain physical properties of these systems. We will cover systems ranging from perfect to quasi-perfect and amorphous systems, and we will introduce the students to systems that have been widely researched based on carbon, showing the variety of responses that they can present from the point of view of applications such as insulators, metals and semiconductors. We will also conduct a theoretical study of fractals from a mathematical point of view, but also show the feasibility of synthesizing fractal molecular chains based on carbon and metallic elements. Systems such as fractal quantum corrals, triangles and Sierpinski carpets will be studied. The student will also participate in scientific activities at the High Resolution Electron Microscopy Laboratory (LaMAR) at UFF, where she will be able to follow some measurements and participate in the analysis of electron microscopy images of film and membrane samples. (AU)