Pressure-induced phase transition in silicon nitride material

The equilibrium crystal structures,lattice parameters,elastic constants,and elastic moduli of the polymorphs α-,β-,and γ-Si3N4,have been calculated by first-principles method.β-Si3N4 is ductile in nature and has an ionic bonding.γSi3N4 is found to be a brittle material and has covalent chemical bonds,especially at high pressures.The phase boundary of the β→γ transition is obtained and a positive slope is found.This indicates that at higher temperatures it requires higher pressures to synthesize γ-Si3N4.On the other hand,the α→γ phase boundary can be described as P = 14.37198+ 3.27 × 10?3T-7.83911 × 10?7T2-3.13552 × 10?10T3.The phase transition from α-to γ-Si3N4 occurs at 16.1 GPa and 1700 K.Then,the dependencies of bulk modulus,heat capacity,and thermal expansion on the pressure P are obtained in the ranges of 0 GPa-30 GPa and 0 K-2000 K.Significant features in these properties are observed at high temperatures.It turns out that the thermal expansion of γ-Si3N4 is larger than that of α-Si3N4 over wide pressure and temperature ranges.The evolutions of the heat capacity with temperature for the Si3N4 polymorphs are close to each other,which are important for possible applications of Si3N4.     

Predictions of pressure-induced structural transition, mechanical and thermodynamic properties of α-and β-Si3N4 ceramics: ab initio and quasi-harmonic Debye modeling

The plane-wave pseudo-potential method within the framework of ab initio technique is used to investigate the structural and elastic properties of α-and β-Si3N4.The ground-state parameters accord quite well with the experimental data.Our calculation reveals that α-Si3N4 can retain its stability to at least 40 GPa when compressed at 300 K.The α→β phase transformation would not occur in a pressure range of 0-40 GPa and a temperature range of 0-300 K.Actually,the α→β transition occurs at 1600 K and 7.98 GPa.For α-and β-Si3N4,the c axes are slightly more incompressible than the a axes.We conclude that β-Si3N4 is a hard material and ductile in nature.On the other hand,β-Si3N4 is also found to be an ionic material and can retain its mechanical stability in a pressure range of 0-10 GPa.Besides,the thermodynamic properties such as entropy,heat capacity,and Debye temperature of α-and β-Si3N4 are determined at various temperatures and pressures.Significant features in these properties are observed at high temperature.The calculated results are in good agreement with available experimental data and previous theoretical values.Many fundamental solid-state properties are reported at high pressure and high temperature.Therefore,our results may provide useful information for theoretical and experimental investigations of the Si3N4 polymorphs.     

Predictions of pressure-induced structural transition,mechanical and thermodynamic properties of α-and β-Si₃N₄ ceramics:ab initio and quasi-harmonic Debye modeling

The plane-wave pseudo-potential method within the framework of ab initio technique is used to investigate the structural and elastic properties of α-and β-Si3N4.The ground-state parameters accord quite well with the experimental data.Our calculation reveals that α-Si3N4 can retain its stability to at least 40 GPa when compressed at 300 K.The α→β phase transformation would not occur in a pressure range of 0-40 GPa and a temperature range of 0-300 K.Actually,the α→β transition occurs at 1600 K and 7.98 GPa.For α-and β-Si3N4,the c axes are slightly more incompressible than the a axes.We conclude that β-Si3N4 is a hard material and ductile in nature.On the other hand,β-Si3N4 is also found to be an ionic material and can retain its mechanical stability in a pressure range of 0-10 GPa.Besides,the thermodynamic properties such as entropy,heat capacity,and Debye temperature of α-and β-Si3N4 are determined at various temperatures and pressures.Significant features in these properties are observed at high temperature.The calculated results are in good agreement with available experimental data and previous theoretical values.Many fundamental solid-state properties are reported at high pressure and high temperature.Therefore,our results may provide useful information for theoretical and experimental investigations of the Si3N4 polymorphs.     

mechanical and thermodynamic properties of α-and β-Si3N4 ceramics： ab initio and quasi-harmonic Debye modeling

The plane-wave pseudo-potential method within the framework of ab initio technique is used to investigate the structural and elastic properties of α-and β-Si3N4. The ground-state parameters accord quite well with the experimental data. Our calculation reveals that α-Si3N4 can retain its stability to at least 40 GPa when compressed at 300 K. The α → β phase transformation would not occur in a pressure range of 0-40 （3Pa and a temperature range of 0 300 K. Actually, the α → β transition occurs at 1600 K and 7.98 GPa. For α-and β-Si3N4, the c axes are slightly more incompressible than the a axes. We conclude that β-Si3N4 is a hard material and ductile in nature. On the other hand, β-Si3N4 is also found to be an ionic material and can retain its mechanical stability in a pressure range of 0 - 010 GPa. Besides, the thermodynamic properties such as entropy, heat capacity, and Debye temperature of α-and β-Si3N4 are determined at various temperatures and pressures. Significant features in these properties are observed at high temperature. The calculated results are in good agreement with available experimental data and previous theoretical values. Many fundamental solid-state properties are reported at high pressure and high temperature. Therefore, our results may provide useful information for theoretical and experimental investigations of the Si3N4 polymorphs.     

First-Principles Calculations of Phase Transition and Stability of Si2CN4 under High Pressure

A pressure-induced phase transition and stability in Si2 CN4 polymorphs under high pressure are studied by firstprinciples calculations. The result shows that the phase transition pressure of α- and β-Si2 CN4 to the cubic spinal phase is 29.9 GPa and 27.5 GPa predicted by thermodynamic method respectively. Under ambient condition, all of the three Si2CN4 polymorphs are metastable with positive formation enthalpy. Unlike the stability of Si3N4 polymorphs, α-Si2 CN4 is more stable than the β phase.     

Properties of negative thermal expansion β-eucryptite ceramics prepared by spark plasma sintering

β-eucryptite powders are prepared by the sol-gel method through using tetraethoxysilane lithium nitrate and aluminum isopropoxide as starting materials. β-eucryptite ceramics are prepared by spark plasma sintering. The effects of sintering temperature on the negative thermal expansion properties of the β-eucryptite are investigated by x-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electron microscopy, and thermal expansion test. The XRD results exhibit no change in the crystal structure of the sample prepared by different sintering processes. The negative thermal expansion properties increase with the increase of the sintering temperature. The coefficient of thermal expansion of β-eucryptite ceramics sintered at 1100℃ is calculated to be -4.93 × 10~(-6)℃~(-1). Crystallization behaviors of the ceramics may play an important role in the increase of negative thermal expansion of β-eucryptite. High sintering temperature could improve the crystallization behaviors of the ceramics and reduce the residue glass phase, which can improve the negative thermal expansion properties of β-eucryptite ceramics.     

Phase transition and thermodynamic properties of BiFeO3 from first-principles calculations

The first-principles projector-augmented wave method employing the quasi-harmonic Debye model,is applied to investigate the thermodynamic properties and the phase transition between the trigonal R3c structure and the orthorhombic Pnma structure.It is found that at ambient temperature,the phase transition from the trigonal R3c phase to the orthorhombic Pnma phase is a first-order antiferromagnetic-nonmagnetic and insulator-metal transition,and occurs at 10.56 GPa,which is in good agreement with experimental data.With increasing temperature,the transition pressure decreases almost linearly.Moreover,the thermodynamic properties including Grneisen parameter,heat capacity,entropy,and the dependences of thermal expansion coefficient on temperature and pressure are also obtained.     

Compression behavior and phase transition of β-Si_3N_4 under high pressure

The compressibility and pressure-induced phase transition of β-Si_3N_4 were investigated by using an angle dispersive x-ray diffraction technique in a diamond anvil cell at room temperature. Rietveld refinements of the x-ray powder diffraction data verified that the hexagonal structure(with space group P63/m, Z = 2 formulas per unit cell) β-Si_3N_4 remained stable under high pressure up to 37 GPa. Upon increasing pressure, β-Si3 N4 transformed to δ-Si_3N_4 at about 41 GPa. The initial β-Si_3N_4 was recovered as the pressure was released to ambient pressure, implying that the observed pressureinduced phase transformation was reversible. The pressure–volume data of β-Si_3N_4 was fitted by the third-order Birch–Murnaghan equation of state, which yielded a bulk modulus K_0= 273(2) GPa with its pressure derivative K_0= 4(fixed)and K0= 278(2) GPa with K 0= 5. Furthermore, the compressibility of the unit cell axes(a and c-axes) for the β-Si_3N_4 demonstrated an anisotropic property with increasing pressure.     

Structural phase transition behaviour of ZnaSb3 and its substitutional compounds （Zn0.98M0.02）4Sb3 （M = Al,Ga and In） at low temperatures

Structural phase transitions of Zn4Sb3 and its substitutional compounds (Zn0.98M0.02)4Sb3 (M = Al, Ga and In) are investigated by electrical transport measurement and differential scanning calorimetry below room temperature. The results indicate that both β→α and α→α′ phase transitions of Zn4Sb3 are reversible and exothermic processes, which may be explained as that both the transitions originate from the ordering of the disordered interstitial Zn and vacancies in regular sizes. The derived activation energies of β→α and α→α′ phase transition processes for Zn4Sb3 are E1 = 3.9 eV and E2 = 4.1 eV, respectively. Although no remarkable influence on activation energy E2 is observed after Al doping, Al substitution for Zn causes E1 to increase to 4.6 eV, implying its suppression of βα transition to a great extent. Moreover, it is found that both βα and αα′ transitions are completely prohibited by substitution of either In or Ga for Zn in Zn4Sb3. The underlying mechanisms for these phenomena are discussed.     

High Solubility of Hetero-Valence Ion （Cu^2＋） for Reducing Phase Transition and Thermal Expansion of ZrV1.6P0.4O7

Large thermal expansion at room temperature and high phase transition temperature of ZrV2O7 limit its practical applications and are reduced by the high solubility of hetero-valence ion （Cu^2＋） on the basis of an equal-valence substitution of P^5＋ for V^5＋. The temperature-dependent Raman spectra show that Zr0.9CU0.1V1.6P0.4O6.9 maintains a normal parent cubic structure till 173 K and transforms to a 3 × 3 × 3 cubic superstructure below 173K. Temperature dependent x-ray diffraction patterns of Zr0.9CU0.1V1.6P0.4O6.9 show near zero and negative thermal expansion. High solubility of lower valence Cu^2＋ relates to an equal-valence substitution of smaller pH for P^5＋, which extends the bond angle of V（P）-O-V in ZrV1.6P0.4O7 close to 180°. The change of microstructure is considered to be responsible for reduced phase transition temperature and thermal expansion.     

Near-zero thermal expansion of In_(2(1-x))(HfMg)_xMo_3O_(12) with tailored phase transition

Solid solutions of In_(2(1-x)(HfMg)_xMo_3O_(12) are synthesized by solid state reaction with the aim to reduce the phase transition temperature of In_2Mo_3O_(12) and improve its thermal expansion property.The effects of(HfMg)~(6+) incorporation on the phase transition and thermal expansion are investigated.It is shown that the monoclinic-to-orthorhombic phase transition temperature obviously decreases and the coefficient of thermal expansion(CTE) of the orthorhombic becomes less negative and approaches to zero with increasing the content of(HfMg)~(6+).A near zero thermal expansion covering the case at room temperature(RT) is achieved for the solid solutions with x ≥ 0.85,implying potential applications of this material in many fields.     

Phase Relations and Pressure-Volume-Temperature Equation of State of Galena

The phase relations and pressure volume dependences of galena （PbS） under high pressure and high temperature are investigated by means of in situ observation using resistance heating in a diamond anvil cell and synchrotron radiation. The phase transition from NaCl type to TII type takes place at approximately 2.4 GPa. A fit to the high temperature third-order Bireh-Murnaghan equation of state yields an isothermal bulk modulus Ko = 37（3） GPa, and its pressure derivative K＇0 = 3.6（3）, the temperature derivative of the bulk modulus （ K/ T）p = -0.022（9） GPaK^-1, and the thermal expansion coeffeient α0 = 2.2（5） × 10^-5 K^-1 for TII-type galena. The linear compressibilities j3 along a, b and c directions of TII type is elastically anisotropic （βa = 3.4 × 10^-3 GPa^-1, βb = 1.4× 10^-4 GPa^-1 and βc = 1.6 × 10^-3 GPa^-1）. We obtain the temperature derivative of the bulk modulus （ K/ T）p and thermal expansion coefficient α0 for TlI-type galena for the first time.     

Phase transition and thermodynamic properties of SrS via first-principles calculations

The phase transition of SrS from NaCl structure （B1） to CsCl structure （B2） is investigated by means of ab initio plane-wave pseudopotential density functional theory, and the thermodynamic properties of the B1 and the B2 structures are obtained through the quasi-harmonic Debye model. It is found that the transition phase from the B1 to the B2 structures occurs at 17.9 GPa, which is in good agreement with experimental data and other calculated results. Moreover, the thermodynamic properties （including specific heat capacity, the Debye temperature, thermal expansion and Griineisen parameter） have also been obtained successfully.     

Phase Transition of FeS in Terms of In-Situ Resistance Measurement

Electrical properties of stoichiometric iron sulfide （FeS） are investigated under high pressure with a designed diamond anvil cell. The process of phase transition is reflected by changing the electrical conductivity under high pressure, and the conductivity of FeS with the NiAs structure is found to be much smaller than other phases. Two new phase transitions without structural change are observed at 34.7 GPa and 61.3 GPa. The temperature dependence of the conductivity is found to be similar to that of a semiconductor when the pressure is higher than 35 GPa     

Structural and thermodynamic properties of OsN2 from first-principles calculations

We investigate the structural and thermodynamic properties of OsN2 by a plane-wave pseudopotential density functional theory method. The obtained lattice constant,bulk modulus and cell volume per unit formula are consistent with the available theoretical data. Moreover,the pressure-induced phase transition of OsN2 from pyrite structure to fluorite structure has been obtained. It is found that the transition pressure of OsN2 at zero temperature is 67.2 GPa. The bulk modulus B as well as other thermodynamic quantities of fluorite OsN2 (including the Gru¨neisen constant γ and thermal expansion α) on temperatures and pressures have also been obtained.     

First-principles calculations of structural and thermodynamic properties of β-PbO

We employed ab-initio calculations to investigate the structural and thermodynamic properties of Massicot or orthorhombic phase of PbO named β-PbO using the projector augmented-wave(PAW) method within the generalized gradient approximation(GGA). The temperature and pressure dependence of bulk modulus, heat capacity at constant pressure and constant volume, entropy, thermal expansion coefficient and Grüneisen parameter were discussed. Accuracy of two different models, the Debye and Debye-Grüneisen which are based on the quasi-harmonic approximation(QHA) for producing thermodynamic properties of material were compared. According to calculation results, these two models can be used to designate thermodynamic properties for β-PbO with sensible accuracy over a wide range of temperatures and pressures, and our work on the properties of this structure will be useful for more deeply understanding various properties of this structure.     

Phase Transition and Optical Properties of Solid Oxygen under High Pressure: A Density Functional Theory Study

Crystal structures and optical properties of the δ-O2 phase and the ε-O8 phase have been investigated by using the ab initio pseudopotential plane-wave method. It is found that the phase transition is of the first order with a discontinuous volumetric change from the antiferromagnetic δ-O2 phase to the nonmagnetic ε-O8 phase, consistent with the experimental findings. The energy band calculations show that the direct band gap changes into an indirect band gap after the phase transition. The apparent change in the optical properties can be used for identifying the phase transition from δ-O2 to ε-O8.     

Effects of in-plane stiffness and charge transfer on thermal expansion of monolayer transition metal dichalcogenide

The temperature dependence of lattice constants is studied by using first-principles calculations to determine the effects of in-plane stiffness and charge transfer on the thermal expansions of monolayer semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides.Unlike the corresponding bulk material,our simulations show that monolayer MX₂（M = Mo and W;X = S,Se,and Te） exhibits a negative thermal expansion at low temperatures,induced by the bending modes.The transition from contraction to expansion at higher temperatures is observed.Interestingly,the thermal expansion can be tailored regularly by alteration of the M or X atom.Detailed analysis shows that the positive thermal expansion coefficient is determined mainly by the in-plane stiffness,which can be expressed by a simple relationship.Essentially the regularity of this change can be attributed to the difference in charge transfer between the different elements.These findings should be applicable to other two-dimensional systems.     

Structural, thermodynamic and electronic properties of zinc-blende AlN from first-principles calculations

Structural, thermodynamic and electronic properties of zinc-blende AlN under pressure are investigated by first-principles calculations based on the plane-wave basis set. Through the analysis of enthalpy variation of AlN in the zinc-blende (ZB) and the rock-salt (RS) structures with pressure, we find the phase transition of AlN from ZB to RS structure occurs at 6.7 GPa. By using the quasi-harmonic Debye model, we obtain the heat capacity C_V, Debye temperature Θ_D, Grüneisen parameter γ and thermal expansion coefficient α. The electronic properties including fundamental energy gaps and hydrostatic deformation potentials are investigated and the dependence of energy gaps on pressure is analysed.     

Phase Transition of Graphitic-C3N4 under High Pressure by In Situ Resistance Measurement in a Diamond Anvil Cell

In situ resistance measurement of Graphitic-C3N4 has been performed under high pressure in a diamond anvil cell. The result reveals that there are changes of electron transport behaviour. As the pressure increases from ambient to 30 GPa, three abnormal resistance changes can be found at room temperature and two are found at 77K. The abnormal resistance dropped at 5 GPa is close to the phase transition pressure from the P6m2 structure to the p structure predicted by Lowther et al. [Phys. Reg. B 59 (1999) 11683] Another abnormal change of resistance at 12 GPa is related to the phase transition from g-C3N4 to cubic-C3N4 [Teter and Hemley, Science 271 (1990) 53].