Molecular Dynamics Simulations for the Thermal Refinement of Colloidal Nanocrystals

This position is funded by the ERC Starting Grant REFINE2LASE recipient Prof. Emanuele Marino andis part of Work Package 2, which aims to understand the physical mechanisms underlying the thermalrefinement of colloidal nanocrystals. The research will involve developing coarse-grained moleculardynamics simulations informed by experimental small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) data to studysuperlattice nucleation and growth and nanocrystal size selection. These simulations will help identifyefficient thermal protocols to obtain nanocrystal populations with reduced polydispersity for use in themicrolasers envisioned by the project.The first months (maximum 6) of the appointment are planned to be spent in Prof. Michael Engel’s groupat Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), in Erlangen, Germany.