QUANTUM ESPRESSO is an integrated suite of computer codes for electronic-structure calculations and materials modeling, based on density-functional theory, plane waves, and pseudopotentials (norm-conserving, ultrasoft, and projector-augmented wave). The acronym ESPRESSO stands for opEn Source Package for Research in Electronic Structure, Simulation, and Optimization. It is freely available to researchers around the world under the terms of the GNU General Public License. QUANTUM ESPRESSO builds upon newly-restructured electronic-structure codes that have been developed and tested by some of the original authors of novel electronic-structure algorithms and applied in the last twenty years by some of the leading materials modeling groups worldwide. Innovation and efficiency are still its main focus, with special attention paid to massively parallel architectures, and a great effort being devoted to user friendliness. QUANTUM ESPRESSO is evolving towards a distribution of independent and interoperable codes in the spirit of an open-source project, where researchers active in the field of electronic-structure calculations are encouraged to participate in the project by contributing their own codes or by implementing their own ideas into existing codes.

Hybrid AMX3 perovskites (A = Cs, CH3NH3; M = Sn, Pb; X = halide) have revolutionized the scenario of emerging photovoltaic technologies, with very recent results demonstrating 15% efficient solar cells. The CH3NH3PbI3/MAPb(I(1-x)Cl(x))3 perovskites have dominated the field, while the similar CH3NH3SnI3 has not been exploited for photovoltaic applications. Replacement of Pb by Sn would facilitate the large uptake of perovskite-based photovoltaics. Despite the extremely fast progress, the materials electronic properties which are key to the photovoltaic performance are relatively little understood. Density Functional Theory electronic structure methods have so far delivered an unbalanced description of Pb- and Sn-based perovskites. Here we develop an effective GW method incorporating spin-orbit coupling which allows us to accurately model the electronic, optical and transport properties of CH3NH3SnI3 and CH3NH3PbI3, opening the way to new materials design. The different CH3NH3SnI3 and CH3NH3PbI3 electronic properties are discussed in light of their exploitation for solar cells, and found to be dominantly due to relativistic effects. These effects stabilize the CH3NH3PbI3 material towards oxidation, by inducing a deeper valence band edge. Relativistic effects, however, also increase the material band-gap compared to CH3NH3SnI3, due to the valence band energy downshift (~0.7 eV) being only partly compensated by the conduction band downshift (~0.2 eV).

Organohalide lead perovskites have revolutionized the scenario of emerging photovoltaic technologies. The prototype MAPbI₃ perovskite (MA = CH₃NH₃⁺) has dominated the field, despite only harvesting photons above 750 nm (∼1.6 eV). Intensive research efforts are being devoted to find new perovskites with red-shifted absorption onset, along with good charge transport properties. Recently, a new perovskite based on the formamidinium cation ((NH₂)₂CH⁺ = FA) has shown potentially superior properties in terms of band gap and charge transport compared to MAPbI₃. The results have been interpreted in terms of the cation size, with the larger FA cation expectedly delivering reduced band-gaps in Pb-based perovskites. To provide a full understanding of the interplay among size, structure, and organic/inorganic interactions in determining the properties of APbI₃ perovskites, in view of designing new materials and fully exploiting them for solar cells applications, we report a fully first-principles investigation on APbI₃ perovskites with A = Cs⁺, MA, and FA. Our results evidence that the tetragonal-to-quasi cubic structural evolution observed when moving from MA to FA is due to the interplay of size effects and enhanced hydrogen bonding between the FA cations and the inorganic matrix altering the covalent/ionic character of Pb–I bonds. Most notably, the observed cation-induced structural variability promotes markedly different electronic and optical properties in the MAPbI₃ and FAPbI₃ perovskites, mediated by the different spin–orbit coupling, leading to improved charge transport and red-shifted absorption in FAPbI₃ and in general in pseudocubic structures. Our theoretical model constitutes the basis for the rationale design of new and more efficient organohalide perovskites for solar cells applications.

We treat homogeneous electric fields within density functional calculations with periodic boundary conditions. A nonlocal energy functional depending on the applied field is used within an ab initio molecular dynamics scheme. The reliability of the method is demonstrated in the case of bulk MgO for the Born effective charges, and the high- and low-frequency dielectric constants. We evaluate the static dielectric constant by performing a damped molecular dynamics in an electric field and avoiding the calculation of the dynamical matrix. Application of this method to vitreous silica shows good agreement with experiment and illustrates its potential for systems of large size.

The electronic properties of the MAPbX ₃ halide perovskites are investigated by DFT and GW methods, revealing the trends in band structure and optical properties along the X = I, Br and Cl series.

We introduce a method that allows for the calculation of quasiparticle spectra in the GW approximation, yet avoiding any explicit reference to empty one-electron states. This is achieved by expressing the irreducible polarizability operator and the self-energy operator through a set of linear response equations, which are solved using a Lanczos-chain algorithm. We first validate our approach by calculating the vertical ionization energies of the benzene molecule and then show its potential by addressing the spectrum of a large molecule such as free-base tetraphenylporphyrin.