+PRECISE +EFFICIENT
Predicting and controlling the molecular organization of materials will have a major impact, as they will allow the development of new materials by design. One of the avenues used in the study of molecular organization is the modelling of self-assembled particles. However, these studies are limited by the difficulty in simulating atomic kinetics over experimental times.
A method developed by Prof. Mousseau, known as ART nouveau (Activation-Relaxation Technique) was optimized to allow the modelling of self-assembly processes over longer periods of time. Unique in the world, this technique has made it possible, among others, to explore the energy landscape of the C20 molecule and offers the possibility of studying the growth of quantum dots, silicon nanowires and graphene.
REFERENCE
[1] L.K. Béland, P. Brommer, F. El-Mellouhi, J.-F. Joly, N. Mousseau, Physical Review, E84, 046704 (2011)
RESEARCHERS
Pr. N. Mousseau (Université de Montréal), F. Villaime, M.-C. Marinica, P. Pochet and T. Deutsch (Comissariat à l’énergie atomique, France), S. Bedwani and Pr. A. Rochefort (École Polytechnique)
IRDQ CONTRIBUTION