Boris Yakobson

About

Boris I. Yakobson is the Group Leader of the Yakobson Research Group at the Department of Materials Science & NanoEngineering at Rice University. He holds the Karl F. Hasselmann Chair of Engineering and serves as a Professor of Materials Science and NanoEngineering as well as a Professor of Chemistry. His research group focuses on computational and theoretical studies related to nanomaterials, including the growth, thermodynamics, electronic properties, and mechanical behavior of low-dimensional materials such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, and other two-dimensional materials. The group also investigates the synthesis, morphology, and applications of these materials, employing methods such as density functional theory (DFT) and ab initio simulations. Yakobson's work encompasses a broad range of topics including nanomechanics, electronic transport, catalysis, and the structural and thermal properties of nanostructures, contributing to the understanding and development of advanced materials for nanoengineering and nanotechnology applications.

Research topics

• Materials science
• Nanotechnology
• Physics
• Chemistry
• Condensed matter physics
• Computer Science
• Quantum mechanics
• Composite material
• Metallurgy
• Optoelectronics

Selected publications

• Gram-scale bottom-up flash graphene synthesis

  Nature · 2020 · 864 citations

  DOI

• Wafer-scale single-crystal hexagonal boron nitride monolayers on Cu (111)

  Nature · 2020 · 667 citations

  DOI

• Hierarchically structured bioinspired nanocomposites

  Nature Materials · 2022 · 537 citations

  DOI

• Large effective magnetic fields from chiral phonons in rare-earth halides

  Science · 2023 · 111 citations

  Time-reversal symmetry (TRS) is pivotal for materials' optical, magnetic, topological, and transport properties. Chiral phonons, characterized by atoms rotating unidirectionally around their equilibrium positions, generate dynamic lattice structures that break TRS. Here, we report that coherent chiral phonons, driven by circularly polarized terahertz light pulses, polarize the paramagnetic spins in cerium fluoride in a manner similar to that of a quasi-static magnetic field on the order of 1 tes…

  DOI

• Theoretical Prediction of Two-Dimensional Materials, Behavior, and Properties

  ACS Nano · 2021 · 61 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  , massively sought after and explored in experimental laboratories, and materials theoretical-computational models in general, flourishing on a fertile mix of condensed-matter physics and chemistry with advancing computational technology. Here the general methods and specific techniques of modeling are briefly overviewed, along with a somewhat philosophical assessment of what "prediction" is, followed by selected practical examples for 2D materials, from structures and properties, to device func…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• EAGER: From Mechanics of the Eshelby Twist to Nanotube Chirality

  NSF · $150k · 2009–2015

• Catalyst design for (n,m)-targeted carbon nanotube syntheses

  NSF · $366k · 2016–2022

• Multiscale modeling approach to catalytic growth of carbon nanotubes

  NSF · $300k · 2007–2013

Frequent coauthors

• Zhuhua Zhang

  77 shared

• James M. Tour

  67 shared

• Feng Ding

  Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology

  65 shared

• Evgeni S. Penev

  Rice University

  64 shared

• Pulickel M. Ajayan

  Rice University

  64 shared

• Traian Dumitrică

  University of Minnesota

  52 shared

• Alex Kutana

  48 shared

• Павел Б. Сорокин

  National University of Science and Technology

  44 shared

Labs

• Yakobson Research GroupPI

  Department of Materials Science & NanoEngineering

Awards & honors

• Nano 50 Innovator Award, Nanotech Briefs (2008)
• Department of Energy, R & D Award (2009)
• Outstanding Faculty Research Award, School of Engineering, R…

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