Due to their unique physical and chemical properties, complex nanostructures based on carbon nanotubes and transition metal oxides are considered promising electrode materials for the fabrication of high-performance supercapacitors with a fast charge rate, high power density, and long cycle life. The crucial role in determining their efficiency is played by the properties of the interface in such nanostructures, among them, the type of chemical bonds between their components. The complementary theoretical and experimental methods, including dispersion-corrected density functional theory (DFT-D3) within GGA-PBE approximation, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman, X-ray photoelectron, and X-ray absorption spectroscopies, were applied in the present work for the comprehensive investigation of surface morphology, structure, and electronic properties in CuOx/MWCNTs and NiO_x/MWCNTs. As a result, the type of interfacial interaction and its correlation with electrochemical characteristics were determined. It was found that the presence of both Ni–O–C and Ni–C bonds can increase the contact between NiO and MWCNTs, and, through this, promote electron transfer between NiO and MWCNTs. For NiO_x/MWCNTs, better electrochemical characteristics were observed than for CuO_x/MWCNTs, in which the interfacial interaction is determined only by bonding through Cu–O–C bonds. The electrochemical properties of CuO_x/MWCNTs and NiO_x/MWCNTs were studied to demonstrate the effect of interfacial interaction on their efficiency as electrode materials for supercapacitor applications.

The paper presents the results of ab initio study of the opportunities for tuning the band structure, magnetic and transport properties of zigzag graphene nanoribbon (8-ZGNR) on hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN(0001)) semiconductor heterostructure by transverse electric field (Eext). This study was performed within the framework of the density functional theory (DFT) using Grimme's (DFT-D2) scheme. We established the critical values of Eext for the 8-ZGNR/h-BN(0001) heterostructure, thereby providing for semiconductor-halfmetal transition in one of electron spin configurations. This study also showed that the degeneration in energy of the localized edge states is removed when Eext is applied. In ZGNR/h-BN (0001) heterostructure, value of the splitting energy was higher than one in ZGNRs without substrate. We determined the effect of low Eext applied to the 8-ZGNR/h-BN (0001) semiconductor heterostructure on the preserved local magnetic moment (LMM) (0.3μB) of edge carbon atoms. The transport properties of the 8-ZGNR/h-BN(0001) semiconductor heterostructure can be controlled using Eext. In particular, at a critical value of the positive potential, the electron mobility can increase to 7× 105 cm2/V s or remain at zero in the spin-up and spin-down electron subsystems, respectively. We established that magnetic moments (MMs), band gaps, and carrier mobility can be altered using Eext. These abilities enable the use of 8-ZGNR/h-BN(0001) semiconductor heterostructure in spintronics.

Results of ab initio study of magnetism and transport properties of charge carriers in zigzag graphene nanoribbons (ZGNR) on hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN(0001)) substrate are presented within the density functional theory framework. Peculiarities of the interface band structure and its role in the formation of magnetism and transport properties of the ZGNR/h-BN(0001) heterostructure have been studied using two different density functional approximations. The effect of the substrate and graphene nanoribbons width on the low-energy spectrum of π-electrons, local magnetic moments on atoms of interface, and charge carriers mobility in the ZGNR/h-BN(0001) heterostructures have been established for the first time. The regularity consisting in the charge carrier mobility growth with decrease of dimers number in nanoribbon was also established. It is found that the charge carriers mobility in the N-ZGNR/h-BN(0001) (N—number of carbon (C) dimers) heterostructures is 5% higher than in freestanding ZGNR.

In this work, we present the density functional theory calculations of the effect of an oriented electric field on the electronic structure and spin-polarized transport in a one dimensional (1D) zigzag graphene nanoribbon (ZGNR) channel placed on a wide bandgap semiconductor of the A3B5 type. Our calculations show that carrier mobility in the 1D semiconductor channel of the ZGNR/A3B5(0001) type is in the range from $1.7\times {10}^4$ to $30.5\times {10}^4$ cm²/Vs and can be controlled by an electric field. In particular, at the critical value of the positive potential, even though hole mobility in an one-dimensional 8-ZGNR/h-BN semiconductor channel for spin down electron subsystems is equal to zero, hole mobility can be increased to $4.1\times {10}^5$ cm²/Vs for spin up electron subsystems. We found that band gap and carrier mobility in a 1D semiconductor channel of the ZGNR/A3B5(0001) type depend strongly on an external electric field. With these extraordinary properties, ZGNR/A3B5(0001) can become a promising materials for application in nanospintronic devices.

The effect of an external electric field on the electronic and magnetic properties of the heterostructure of zigzag graphene nanoribbons (ZGNRs) placed on an aluminium nitride nanosheet (AlNNS) is studied using density functional theory (DFT).

The results of DFT (GGA-PBEsol) and DFT(PBE)-D2 study of the band structure of zigzag graphene nanoribbons on hexagonal nitride boron 8-ZGNR/h-BN(0001) are presented, suitable as potential base for new materials for spintronics. It offers a study of regularities in the changes of the valence band electron structure and the induction of the energy gap in the series 8-ZGNR → 8-ZGNR/h-BN(0001) → graphene/h-BN(0001). The peculiarities of the spin state at the Fermi level, the roles of the edge effect and the effect of substrate in formation of the band gap in 8-ZGNR/h-BN(0001) system are discussed. Our calculations shown that vdW-correction plays an important role in the adsorption of GNR on h-BN and results in reduction of the interplanar distances in equilibrium systems ZGNRs/h-BN(0001). As a result of the structural changes we have obtained new values of the energy gap in the 8-ZGNR-AF and 8-ZGNR-AF/h-BN(0001) systems. The paper demonstrates appearance of 600 meV energy gap in the 8-ZGNR/h-BN(0001) interface. The contributions of nanoribbon edges and the substrate in formation of the gap have been differentiated for the first time. The estimations of local magnetic moments on carbon atoms are made. Shown that in case of ferromagnetic ordering substrate presense causes insignificant splitting of the bands. The splitting reached only (14-28 meV). Since the electronic states of a suspended GNR in point (k=π) are degenerate near the Fermi level, we can assume that the above splitting in 8-ZGNR/h-BN(0001) is only determined by the contribution of the h-BN(0001) substrate.