Computer Simulation of Nanoparticle Nucleation & Growth from the Gas Phase

Gas-phase synthesis collectively describes various physical methods for nanoparticle nucleation & growth from a supersaturated atomic vapour. In this talk, I will explain the main mechanisms that control basic properties of individual nanoparticles such as size, shape, or chemical ordering, based on various setups of sources. Moving to a coarser scale, I will bring up examples where larger structures can be designed using nanoparticles as their functional building blocks. To date, gas-phase syntesised nanoparticles face two main limitations that need to be overcome for real-world applications: (i) limited yield, and (ii) precise structural control. The main thesis of this talk is that both challenges can be tackled by in-depth theoretical understanding of both the thermodynamics and kinetics of nucleation & growth. To this end, atomistic computer modelling can be an invaluable tool, complementing experimental fabrication and guiding future source design.

Panos Grammatikopoulos is a computational nanotechnologist. His research interests lie on fundamental processes regarding nanoparticles, but extend to device fabrication and applications. Panos did his PhD at the University of Liverpool. He has worked as a Research Associate for NCSR Democritos and the University of Greenwich, and collaborated with the University of Helsinki as a Visiting Researcher. In 2012 he became Postdoctoral Scholar at the "Nanoparticles by Design" Unit at OIST, and in 2016 he took over as Unit Leader for the same unit. Since 2020 he has held the position of Visiting Assistant Professor at the Particle Technology Laboratory at ETH Zürich and of Specially Appointed Assistant Professor at Osaka University. He is currently Associate Professor at GTIIT, China.