Doctoral College Advanced Functional Materials-Hierarchical Design of Hybrid Systems

The development of new materials with tailored properties is key for addressing the challenges of modern society in a wide range of fields ranging from energy and health to the preservation of the environment.IntheDoctoral College AdvancedFunctionalMaterials (DCAFM, http://dcafm.univie.ac.at/), research groups at the Faculties of Physics and Chemistry of the University of Vienna have joined forces to train doctoral students on this topic at the highest international level. Research in DCAFM focuses on the synthesis, manipulation, characterization, analysis and theoretical description of novel functional materials, ranging from low-dimensional materials with exotic electronic and optical properties to soft matter systems with designed mechanical responses to external stimuli. With the funds of the FWF, ten new positions for doctoral students will be created in the DCAFM to widen its research scope and address new scientific questions. The new DCAFM fellows will work on joint projects focusing on the hierarchical design of hybrid systems, including van der Waals heterostructures, carbon nanomaterials and polymer assemblies. A particular strength of the DCAFM consortium lies in the strong synergy of experimental and theoretical/computational approaches, which provides the DCAFM doctoral fellows with a comprehensive training in the field of advanced functional materials. Admission to DCAFM is highly selective and aims at attracting the most motivated and scientifically promising doctoral candidates. Beyond a stimulating research environment and training- on-the-job, DCAFM fellows also benefit from a variety of multidisciplinary activities at the Faculty of Physics and crucial transferable skills training. All doctoral students participating in the DCAFM will have the opportunity to widen their scientific horizon and gain international experience during extended visits in laboratories at leading institutions world-wide. The thorough training provided by the DCAFM will enable its graduates to take leading roles in industry or successfully pursue careers in research and teaching in academia.

In the FWF-funded Doctoral College Advanced Functional Materials - Hierarchical Design of Hybrid Systems (DCAFM), eleven research groups from the University of Vienna, spanning physics and chemistry, worked jointly on the study of functional materials. The aim of the project was to investigate fundamental relationships between the structure of such materials and their physical properties. In particular, the project examined how material properties can be deliberately influenced when materials are structured across different length scales. The research addressed three classes of materials: two-dimensional layered materials, carbon-based nanomaterials, and polymer-based, easily deformable materials. These systems are characterized by a strong dependence of their properties on structural features at the atomic or molecular level. Even small changes, such as defects, chemical modifications, or external influences, can lead to measurable changes in their behavior. One focus of the project was on atomically thin materials, where the influence of defects on electronic and optical properties was investigated. Such effects are important for the basic understanding of materials at the nanoscale. In addition, carbon nanomaterials such as nanotubes and linear carbon chains were studied in order to describe their physical properties using both experimental measurements and theoretical models. Further work addressed polymer-based materials, whose mechanical and dynamical behavior was examined under the influence of external magnetic fields. A defining feature of the Doctoral College was the close integration of experimental and theoretical work. Experimental techniques such as high-resolution microscopy, spectroscopy, and materials synthesis were systematically combined with computer simulations, theoretical descriptions, and data-driven analysis methods. Methods of machine learning were also applied, for example to analyze complex data sets and to develop efficient simulation models. This integrated workflow made it possible to interpret experimental observations in a systematic way and to test theoretical models against measured data. Within the project, several doctoral candidates completed their dissertations. They addressed a range of research questions in the field of functional materials and developed new experimental methods and theoretical descriptions. At the same time, they completed a structured, interdisciplinary doctoral training program within a shared research environment. The Doctoral College DCAFM thus contributed to doctoral education and to the investigation of fundamental questions in this research field.