Computational Materials Discovery

New technologies are made possible by new materials, and until recently new materials could only be discovered experimentally. Recent advances in solving the crystal structure prediction problem means that the computational design of materials is now a reality. Computational Materials Discovery provides a comprehensive review of this field covering different computational methodologies as well as specific applications of materials design. The book starts by illustrating how and why first-principle calculations have gained importance in the process of materials discovery. The book is then split into three sections, the first exploring different approaches and ideas including crystal structure prediction from evolutionary approaches, data mining methods and applications of machine learning. Section two then looks at examples of designing specific functional materials with special technological relevance for example photovoltaic materials, superconducting materials, topological insulators and thermoelectric materials. The final section considers recent developments in creating low-dimensional materials. With contributions from pioneers and leaders in the field, this unique and timely book provides a convenient entry point for graduate students, researchers and industrial scientists on both the methodologies and applications of the computational design of materials.

New technologies are made possible by new materials, and until recently new materials could only be discovered experimentally. Recent advances in solving the crystal structure prediction problem means that the computational design of materials is now a reality. Computational Materials Discovery provides a comprehensive review of this field covering different computational methodologies as well as specific applications of materials design. The book starts by illustrating how and why first-principle calculations have gained importance in the process of materials discovery. The book is then split into three sections, the first exploring different approaches and ideas including crystal structure prediction from evolutionary approaches, data mining methods and applications of machine learning. Section two then looks at examples of designing specific functional materials with special technological relevance for example photovoltaic materials, superconducting materials, topological insulators and thermoelectric materials. The final section considers recent developments in creating low-dimensional materials. With contributions from pioneers and leaders in the field, this unique and timely book provides a convenient entry point for graduate students, researchers and industrial scientists on both the methodologies and applications of the computational design of materials.

A unique and timely book providing an overview of both the methodologies and applications of computational materials design.

This book deals with an information-driven approach to plan materials discovery and design, iterative learning. The authors present contrasting but complementary approaches, such as those based on high throughput calculations, combinatorial experiments or data driven discovery, together with machine-learning methods. Similarly, statistical methods successfully applied in other fields, such as biosciences, are presented. The content spans from materials science to information science to reflect the cross-disciplinary nature of the field. A perspective is presented that offers a paradigm (codesign loop for materials design) to involve iteratively learning from experiments and calculations to develop materials with optimum properties. Such a loop requires the elements of incorporating domain materials knowledge, a database of descriptors (the genes), a surrogate or statistical model developed to predict a given property with uncertainties, performing adaptive experimental design to guide the next experiment or calculation and aspects of high throughput calculations as well as experiments. The book is about manufacturing with the aim to halving the time to discover and design new materials. Accelerating discovery relies on using large databases, computation, and mathematics in the material sciences in a manner similar to the way used to in the Human Genome Initiative. Novel approaches are therefore called to explore the enormous phase space presented by complex materials and processes. To achieve the desired performance gains, a predictive capability is needed to guide experiments and computations in the most fruitful directions by reducing not successful trials. Despite advances in computation and experimental techniques, generating vast arrays of data; without a clear way of linkage to models, the full value of data driven discovery cannot be realized. Hence, along with experimental, theoretical and computational materials science, we need to add a “fourth leg’’ to our toolkit to make the “Materials Genome'' a reality, the science of Materials Informatics.

This book addresses the current status, challenges and future directions of data-driven materials discovery and design. It presents the analysis and learning from data as a key theme in many science and cyber related applications. The challenging open questions as well as future directions in the application of data science to materials problems are sketched. Computational and experimental facilities today generate vast amounts of data at an unprecedented rate. The book gives guidance to discover new knowledge that enables materials innovation to address grand challenges in energy, environment and security, the clearer link needed between the data from these facilities and the theory and underlying science. The role of inference and optimization methods in distilling the data and constraining predictions using insights and results from theory is key to achieving the desired goals of real time analysis and feedback. Thus, the importance of this book lies in emphasizing that the full value of knowledge driven discovery using data can only be realized by integrating statistical and information sciences with materials science, which is increasingly dependent on high throughput and large scale computational and experimental data gathering efforts. This is especially the case as we enter a new era of big data in materials science with the planning of future experimental facilities such as the Linac Coherent Light Source at Stanford (LCLS-II), the European X-ray Free Electron Laser (EXFEL) and MaRIE (Matter Radiation in Extremes), the signature concept facility from Los Alamos National Laboratory. These facilities are expected to generate hundreds of terabytes to several petabytes of in situ spatially and temporally resolved data per sample. The questions that then arise include how we can learn from the data to accelerate the processing and analysis of reconstructed microstructure, rapidly map spatially resolved properties from high throughput data, devise diagnostics for pattern detection, and guide experiments towards desired targeted properties. The authors are an interdisciplinary group of leading experts who bring the excitement of the nascent and rapidly emerging field of materials informatics to the reader.

This book provides state-of-the-art computational approaches for accelerating materials discovery, synthesis, and processing using thermodynamics and kinetics. The authors deliver an overview of current practical computational tools for materials design in the field. They describe ways to integrate thermodynamics and kinetics and how the two can supplement each other.

Emphasising essential methods and universal principles, this textbook provides everything students need to understand the basics of simulating materials behaviour. All the key topics are covered from electronic structure methods to microstructural evolution, appendices provide crucial background material, and a wealth of practical resources are available online to complete the teaching package. Modelling is examined at a broad range of scales, from the atomic to the mesoscale, providing students with a solid foundation for future study and research. Detailed, accessible explanations of the fundamental equations underpinning materials modelling are presented, including a full chapter summarising essential mathematical background. Extensive appendices, including essential background on classical and quantum mechanics, electrostatics, statistical thermodynamics and linear elasticity, provide the background necessary to fully engage with the fundamentals of computational modelling. Exercises, worked examples, computer codes and discussions of practical implementations methods are all provided online giving students the hands-on experience they need.

Computational Materials Science: An Introduction covers the essentials of computational science and explains how computational tools and techniques work to help solve materials science problems. The book focuses on two levels of a materials system: the electronic structure level of nuclei and electrons and the atomistic/molecular level. It presents