Structure, electronic and magnetic properties of Cr-doped (ZnS)12 clusters: A first-principles study

We have studied the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of (ZnS)₁₂ clusters doped with one (monodoped) and two (bidoped) Cr atoms in terms of a first-principles method. Substitutional, exohedral, and endohedral doping are considered. The substitutional isomer is found to be most favorable in energy for monodoped clusters, while the exohedral isomers are found to be most favorable for bidoped clusters. The magnetic coupling between the Cr atoms is mainly governed by the competition between direct Cr-Cr antiferromagnetic (AFM) interaction and the ferromagnetic (FM) interaction between two Cr atoms via S atom due to strong p-d hybridization. Finally, we show that the exohedral bidoped (ZnS)₁₂ clusters favor the FM state, which has potential applications in nanoscale quantum devices.     

Stable atomic structure and magnetism of Pt–Cr binary surface alloys on Pt(0 0 1): First-principle calculations

The possibility of Pt–Cr surface alloys formation on Pt(0 0 1) was investigated and their magnetism was calculated by the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave (FLAPW) method with eight different atomic configurations. The most stable structure was calculated to be the Pt-segregated L1₂ ferromagnetic surface alloy. A₃B types (L1₂ or D0₂₂) were more stable compared to AB types (L1₀). It implies that the A₃B type surface alloys may be formed when depositing a monolayer of Cr on Pt(0 0 1). It was found from the total energy calculations that there exists a strong tendency of the Pt segregation. The segregation further stabilizes the surface alloy significantly. The work function of the most stable surface alloy was calculated to be 6.02 eV and the magnetic moment of the surface Cr was much enhanced to 3.3 μ_B. It is a quite interesting finding that the coupling between Cr and Pt atoms on the surface plane is ferromagnetic in the Pt-segregated L1₂ ferromagnetic surface alloy, while the coupling is antiferromagnetic in the bulk.     

Magnetic properties of stable structures of small binary clusters

We have studied the optimum geometries and the magnetic behavior of small binary Fe_nGe_m (n+m≤4) clusters usingab initio spin-polarized density functional calculations. Our results reveal that the optimized clusters present high values in the HOMO–LUMO gap and generally prefer structures with high geometries, the local magnetic moments at Fe atoms present an enhancement with respect to Fe bulk magnetization, whereas the Ge atoms present local magnetic moments whose modulus take significative values. The magnetic coupling between Fe and Ge atoms is mainly antiferromagnetic-like. All the clusters studied here present a charge transference from Fe atoms to Ge atoms.     

Ab initio determination of an extended Heisenberg Hamiltonian in CuO 2 layers

Accurate ab initio calculations on embedded Cu₄O₁₂ square clusters, fragments of the La₂CuO₄ lattice, confirm a value of the nearest neighbor antiferromagnetic coupling (J = 124 meV) previously obtained from ab initio calculations on bicentric clusters and in good agreement with experiment. These calculations predict non negligible antiferromagnetic second-neighbor interaction (J' = 6.5 meV) and four-spin cyclic exchange (K = 14 meV), which may affect the thermodynamic and spectroscopic properties of these materials. The dependence of the magnetic coupling on local lattice distortions has also been investigated. Among them the best candidate to induce a spin-phonon effect seems to be the movement of the Cu atoms, changing the Cu-Cu distance, for which the variation of the nearest neighbor magnetic coupling with the Cu-O distance is Δ J /Δ d _{Cu - O} ∼ 1700 cm^-1?^-1. Received 20 November 2000     

Effect of the main-group elements on the electronic structures and magnetic properties of Heusler alloys Mn2NiZ (Z=In, Sn, Sb)

The magnetic properties and electronic structure of Mn₂NiZ (Z=In, Sn, Sb) have been studied. The magnetic structure of these alloys is mainly determined by the main-group element Z instead of the distance between the Mn atoms. Electronic structure calculations suggest that Mn₂NiIn and Mn₂NiSn are both ferrimagnets with antiparallel alignment between the Mn moments. But this antiferromagnetic coupling is weakened by the increasing number of valence electrons of the Z atoms. When it comes to Mn₂NiSb, a ferromagnetic coupling between the Mn atoms is observed. Mn₂NiSn and Mn₂NiSb have been synthesized successfully. Their M_s at 5 K agree well with the theoretical value.     

Ab initio study of formation, migration and binding properties of helium-vacancy clusters in aluminum

Ab initio calculations based on density functional theory have been performed to study the dissolution and migration of helium, and the stability of small helium-vacancy clusters He_nV_m (n, m=0-4) in aluminum. The results indicate that the octahedral configuration is more stable than the tetrahedral. Interstitial helium atoms are predicted to have attractive interactions and jump between two octahedral sites via an intermediate tetrahedral site with low migration energy. The binding energies of an interstitial He atom and an isolated vacancy to a He_nV_m cluster are also obtained from the calculated formation energies of the clusters. We find that the di- and tri-vacancy clusters are not stable, but He atoms can increase the stability of vacancy clusters.     

First-principle study of magnetism in Co-doped SnO2

The effects of Co dopants and oxygen vacancies on the electronic structure and magnetic properties of the Co-doped SnO₂ are studied by the first-principle calculations in full-potential linearized augmented plane wave formalism within generalized gradient approximations. The Co atoms favorably substitute on neighboring sites of the metal sublattice. Without oxygen vacancies, the Co atoms are at low spin state independent of concentration and distribution of Co atoms, and only the magnetic coupling between nearest-neighbor Co atoms is ferromagnetic through direct exchange and super-exchange interaction. Oxygen vacancies tend to locate near the Co atoms. Their presence strongly increases the local magnetic moments of Co atoms, which depend sensitively on the concentration and distribution of Co atoms. Moreover, oxygen vacancies can induce the long-range ferromagnetic coupling between well-separated Co atoms through the spin-split impurity band exchange mechanism. Thus the room temperature ferromagnetism observed experimentally in the Co-doped SnO₂ may originate from the combination of short-range direct exchange and super-exchange interaction and the long-range spin-split impurity band exchange model.     

Effect of Cr on the electronic structure of Co3Al intermetallic compound: A first-principles study

The effect of doping with Cr on the electronic structure and magnetism of Co₃Al has been studied by density functional calculations. It has been found that the Cr atom has a strong site preference for the B-site in Co₃Al. With the substitution of Cr for Co, the total densities of states (DOS) change obviously: A DOS peak appears at E_F in the majority spin states and an energy gap is opened in the minority spin states. The effect of Cr in Co₃Al is mainly to push the antibonding peak of the Co (A,C) atoms high on the energy scale and to form the energy gap around E_F, and also to contribute to the large DOS peak at E_F in the majority spin direction. The calculations indicate a ferromagnetic alignment between the Co and Cr spin moments. The calculated total magnetic moment decreases and becomes closer to the Slater–Pauling curve with increasing Cr content. This is mainly due to the decrease of the Co (A,C) spin moments. At the same time, the moments of Co (B) and Cr (B) only change slightly.     

Charging dynamics of metal clusters in intense laser fields

Clusters of heavy metal atoms in strong femtosecond laser-light fields undergo multi-ionization with the loss of hundreds of electrons. The cross section largely exceeds that of corresponding isolated atoms, which leads in the case of Pb_N to a complete ionization of the 4f shell with a light intensity of 1.2×10¹⁵ W/cm². Experimental investigations on Pb and Pt clusters with variable pulse widths and, for the first time, with the pump&probe technique give insight into the dynamics of the coupling of electromagnetic radiation into the clusters. Both approaches support the picture according to which, after an initial charging, the clusters expand due to Coulomb forces. This expansion is accompanied by a reduction of the electron density and at the same time by an increase of the optical sensitivity. Once the plasmon energy of the diluted nanoplasma approaches the photon energy, the charging efficiency increases significantly. The experimental observations are confirmed by random-phase approximation (RPA) calculations of the optical response, including molecular-dynamics simulations of the expanding systems. Received: 11 November 1999 / Published online: 13 July 2000     

All-electron relativistic calculation on Au5X (X = Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn) clusters

All-electron scalar relativistic calculations on Au₅X (X = Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn) clusters have been performed by using density functional theory with the generalized gradient approximation. Our calculation results indicate that all the lowest energy geometries of Au₅X clusters have planar structures; the doped X atoms prefer to occupy the fourfold coordination site. Except Au₅Fe, Au₅Co and Au₅Zn, for other clusters including pure Au₆ cluster, the HOMO are delocalized obviously with a contribution from all atoms in the cluster. On the contrary, the electron localization in Au₅Zn is very strong resulting in the least stability of this cluster. Au₅Cu cluster with six delocalized electrons being defined as magic number for two-dimensional system has the largest VIP and deepest HOMO energy level. With the substitution Au for X atoms, the metallicity of all Au₅X clusters is reinforced.     

Theoretical study of the magnetic interaction of Cr-doped ZnO with and without vacancies

First-principles density-functional theory (DFT) calculations have been performed to study the magnetic properties of ZnO:Cr with and without vacancies. The results indicate that the doping of Cr in ZnO induces obvious spin polarization around the Fermi level and a total magnetic moment of 3.77μ_B. The ferromagnetism (FM) exchange interaction between Cr atoms is short-ranged and decreases with increasing Cr separation distance. It is suggested that the FM state is not stable with low concentration of Cr. The presence of O vacancies can make the half-metallic FM state of the system more stable, so that higher Curie temperature ferromagnetism may be expected. Nevertheless, Zn vacancies can result in the FM stability decreasing slightly. The calculated formation energy shows that V_Zn+Cr_Zn complex forms spontaneously under O-rich conditions. However, under Zn-rich conditions, the complex of V_O+Cr_Zn forms more easily. Thus, ZnO doped with Cr may exhibit a concentration of vacancies that influence the magnetic properties.     

Experimental and theoretical studies of interactions between Si<Subscript>7</Subscript> clusters

The possibility of using magic Si₇ clusters to form a cluster material was studied experimentally and theoretically. In experiments Si₇ clusters were deposited on carbon surfaces, and the electronic structure and chemical properties of the deposited clusters were measured using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). A non bulk-like electronic structure of Si₇ was found in the Si 2p core level spectra. Si₇ is suggested to form a more stable structure than the non-magic Si₈ cluster and Si atoms upon deposition on carbon surfaces. Theoretically it was possible to study the interaction between the clusters without the effect of a surface. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations of potential curves of two free Si₇ clusters approaching each other in various orientations hint at the formation of cluster materials rather than the fusion of clusters forming bulk-like structures.     

A theoretical study on the excited states of MC3 (M = Sc, V, and Cr)

The ground state structures of MC₃ (M = Sc, V, and Cr) and their anions have been investigated, employing the first-principles DFT at the B3LYP level. The calculations predict that the equilibrium geometries of both neutral MC₃ and their anions are cyclic structures with C_2v symmetry. The Mulliken charge and spin populations of MC₃ and their anions have also been calculated, and it is found the electron charge changes mainly take place on the M atoms from anions to neutral molecules. The low-lying excited states for the clusters are calculated with time-dependent DFT to assign the features of the photoelectron spectra. Our results agree well with the available experimental and theoretical data.     

From antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic coupling for V adatoms on Co(001) substrates

We discuss the polarization of V atoms on Co(001) substrates within density functional calculations. For sub-monolayer coverage the coupling between V and Co is clearly of antiferromagnetic type whereas it changes to ferromagnetic coupling in the case of a full V monolayer on Co(001). The results obtained in the case of a sub-monolayer coverage are in agreement with recent X-ray magnetic circular dichroism by Huttel et al. [Phys. Rev. B 68, 174405 (2003)]. The transition from antiferromagnetic coupling (in the case of sub-monolayer coverage) to ferromagnetic coupling (for a full monolayer coverage) is discussed in terms of local coordination numbers and V-Co hybridization. Comparison with Cr and Mn coverages on Co(001) complicates the problem: i) submonolayer Cr coverage stabilizes the antiferromagnetic coupling between Cr and Co atoms (like for V on Co(001) whereas a Cr monolayer on Co presents in-plane antiferromagnetic coupling; ii) submonolayer Mn coverage stabilizes now the ferromagnetic coupling between Mn and Co whereas a Mn monolayer on Co(001) presents an in-plane antiferromagnetic coupling. Competition between Co induced magnetism and surface induced magnetism at V sites is discussed.     

First-principles study on the magnetic properties of transition-metal atoms doped (ZnS)12 cluster

A first-principles density functional investigation has been performed to evaluate the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of (ZnS)₁₂ doped with one or two transition-metal (TM) atoms (Fe, Co, and Ni). Substitutional- and interstitial-doping are considered. The substitutional isomers are found to be most favorable for Fe-doped clusters, while the interstitial isomers are found to be most favorable for Co- and Ni-doped clusters. Magnetic coupling between the TM atoms at the nearest neighbor position is mainly governed by the competition between direct ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions between two TM atoms via the S atom due to strong p-d hybridization. The coupling is short-ranged. Most importantly, we demonstrate that the Fe and Ni endohedral bi-doped (ZnS)₁₂ clusters favor the ferromagnetic state, which has potential applications in nanoscale quantum devices.     

Ferromagnetism in phosphorus-doped ZnO: First-principles calculation

The electronic structure and magnetic properties of nonmagnetic phosphorus doped ZnO are investigated using first-principles calculation. Both generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and GGA + U calculations show that each substitutional P atom in ZnO induces a magnetic moment of about 1.0 μ_B, which come mainly from the partially filled p orbitals of the substitutional P and its 12 second neighboring O atoms. The magnetic coupling between the moments induced by P doping is ferromagnetic. The calculated electronic structures indicate that the ferromagnetic coupling can be explained in terms of the two band coupling model.     

Magnetism of CrO overlayers on Fe(001)bcc surface: first principles calculations

Riva et al. [Surf. Sci. 621, 55 (2014)] as well as Calloni et al. [J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 26, 445001 (2014)] have studied the oxydation of Cr films deposited on Fe(001)bcc through low-energy electron diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy. In the present work we perform a density functional approach within Quantum Expresso code in order to study structural and magnetic properties of CrO overlayers on Fe(001)bcc. The calculations are performed using DFT+U. The investigated systems include O/Cr/Fe(001)bcc, Cr/O/Fe(001)bcc, Cr_0.25O_0.75/Fe(001)bcc, as well as the O coverage O _x /Cr/Fe(001)bcc (x = 0.25; 0.50). We have found that the ordered CrO overlayer presents an antiferromagnetic coupling between Cr and Fe atoms. The O atoms are located closer to the Fe atoms of the surface than the Cr atoms. The ground state of the systems O/Cr/Fe(001)bcc and Cr/O/Fe(001)bcc corresponds to the O/Cr/Fe(001)bcc system with a magnetic coupling c(2 × 2). The effect of the O monolayer on Cr/Fe(001)bcc changes the ground state from p(1 × 1) ↓ to c(2 × 2) and produces an enhancement of the magnetic moments. The O _x overlayer on Cr/Fe(001)bcc produces an enhancement of the Cr magnetic moments.     

The role of Co impurities and oxygen vacancies in the ferromagnetism of Co-doped SnO2: GGA and GGA+U studies

The electronic structure and ferromagnetic stability of Co-doped SnO₂ are studied using the first-principle density functional method within the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and GGA+U schemes. The addition of effective U_Co transforms the ground state of Co-doped SnO₂ to insulating from half-metallic and the coupling between the nearest neighbor Co spins to weak antimagnetic from strong ferromagnetic. GGA+U_Co calculations show that the pure substitutional Co defects in SnO₂ cannot induce the ferromagnetism. Oxygen vacancies tend to locate near Co atoms. Their presence increases the magnetic moment of Co and induces the ferromagnetic coupling between two Co spins with large Co-Co distance. The calculated density of state and spin density distribution calculated by GGA+U_Co show that the long-range ferromagnetic coupling between two Co spins is mediated by spin-split impurity band induced by oxygen vacancies. More charge transfer from impurity to Co-3d states and larger spin split of Co-3d and impurity states induced by the addition of U_Co enhance the ferromagnetic stability of the system with oxygen vacancies. By applying a Coulomb U_O on O 2 s orbital, the band gap is corrected for all calculations and the conclusions derived from GGA+U_Co calculations are not changed by the correction of band gap.     

Cr掺杂ZnSe团簇稳定性和磁性质

本文采用密度泛函理论研究了Cr原子单掺杂和双掺杂(ZnSe)_(12)团簇的结构、电子性质和磁性质.考虑了三种掺杂方式:替代掺杂,外掺杂和内掺杂.单掺杂时,外掺杂团簇是最稳定结构,而对于双掺杂,内掺杂团簇是最稳定结构.团簇磁矩主要来自Cr-3d态的贡献,4s和4p态也贡献了一小部分磁矩.由于轨道杂化,相邻的Zn和Se原子上也产生少量自旋.结果显示Cr原子间的磁性耦合是短程相互作用.     

Size-selected, supported clusters: the interaction of carbon monoxide with nickel clusters

We report on the size-dependent chemical reactivity of nickel clusters with up to 30 atoms. Monodispersed Ni₃₀ clusters show a higher reactivity for CO dissociation than Ni₁₁ and Ni₂₀. Under our experimental conditions the smallest nickel clusters (Ni_x, x<4) produce nickelcarbonyl complexes. These results demonstrate that such small clusters are unique for catalytic reactions not only due to their high surface-to-volume ratio but also essentially because of the distinctive properties of different cluster sizes. In addition thermal desorption spectroscopy of CO shows that on average four molecules are weakly adsorbed per Ni₁₁ at saturation coverage. Using an isotopic mixture of ¹²CO and ¹³CO, infrared spectroscopy reveals the existence of a vibrational coupling interaction between the four COs. A semi-classical model of interacting dipoles is applied to correlate the observed vibrational frequency shifts with the arrangement of the COs on the cluster. This simple analysis favors a three-dimensional structure for the deposited clusters. Received: 23 March 1998/Accepted: 25 August 1998