High volumetric hydrogen density phases of magnesium borohydride at high-pressure: A first-principles study

The previously proposed theoretical and experimental structures,bond characterization,and compressibility of Mg(BH 4) 2 in a pressure range from 0 to 10 GPa are studied by ab initio density-functional calculations.It is found that the ambient pressure phases of meta-stable I4 1 /amd and unstable P-3m1 proposed recently are extra stable and cannot decompose under high pressure.Enthalpy calculation indicates that the ground state of F 222 structure proposed by Zhou et al.[2009 Phys.Rev.B 79 212102] will transfer to I4 1 /amd at 0.7 GPa,and then to a P-3m1 structure at 6.3 GPa.The experimental P 6 1 22 structure(α-phase) transfers to I4 1 /amd at 1.2 GPa.Furthermore,both I4 1 /amd and P-3m1 can exist as high volumetric hydrogen density phases at low pressure.Their theoretical volumetric hydrogen densities reach 146.351 g H 2 /L and 134.028 g H 2 /L at ambient pressure,respectively.The calculated phonon dispersion curve shows that the I4 1 /amd phase is dynamically stable in a pressure range from 0 to 4 GPa and the P-3m1 phase is stable at pressures higher than 1 GPa.So the I4 1 /amd phase may be synthesized under high pressure and retained to ambient pressure.Energy band structures show that they are both always ionic crystalline and insulating with a band-gap of about 5 eV in this pressure range.In addition,they each have an anisotropic compressibility.The c axis of these structures is easy to compress.Especially,the c axis and volume of P-3m1 phase are extraordinarily compressible,showing that compression along the c axis can increase the volumetric hydrogen content for both I4 1 /amd and P-3m1 structures.     

高压下γ'-Fe4N晶态合金的声子稳定性与磁性

利用基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理研究了高压下有序晶态γ’-Fe₄N合金的晶格动力学稳定性与磁性. 对比没有考虑磁性的γ’-Fe₄N的声子谱, 得出压力小于1 GPa时, 自发磁化诱导了铁磁相γ’-Fe₄N基态晶格动力学稳定. 压力在1.03-31.5 GPa时, Σ线上的点(0.37, 0.37, 0)、对称点X和M 上相继出现了声子谱软化现象. 压力在31.5-60.8 GPa时, 压致效应与自发磁化对诸原子的作用达到了稳定平衡, 表现出了声子谱稳定. 压力大于61.3 GPa时, 随着压力的增大压力诱导体系动力学不稳定性越强. 通过软模相变理论对于γ’-Fe₄N, 在10 GPa下的声学支声子的M点处软化现象的处理, 发现了动力学稳定的高压新相P2/m-Fe₄N. 压力小于1 GPa时高压新相P2/m-Fe₄N 是热力学稳定的相, 且磁矩与γ’-Fe₄N的磁矩几乎相同. 2.9-19 GPa时, P2/m相的焓比γ’相的焓小, 基态结构更稳定. 大于20 GPa时, 两相磁矩几乎相同.     

SmN晶体的电子结构和高压相变的第一性原理

利用基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理,研究了SmN晶体的电子结构和高压相变. SmN晶体的电子结构具有半金属特征,多数自旋电子显示金属导电性,少数自旋电子显示半导体导电性. 高压相变的结果显示,SmN晶体经历从NaCl型(B1)到CsCl型(B2)结构转变的压致结构相变,相变压力117 GPa. 弹性系数的结果显示,在环境压力下SmN晶体的弹性系数满足玻恩稳定条件,标志着B1相是力学稳定结构. 声子谱结果显示,在环境压力下B1相是热力学稳定结构,与弹性系数的计算结果一致.     

High pressure study of the 2D polymeric phase of C60 by means of raman spectroscopy

Abstract

The effect of high hydrostatic pressure, up to 12GPa, on the intramolecular phonon frequencies and the material stability of the two-dimensional tetragonal Cm polymer has been studied by means of Raman spectroscopy in the spectral range of the radial intramolecular modes (200-800cm^?1). A number of new Raman modes appear in the spectrum for pressures ～ 1.4 and ～ 5.0 GPa. The pressure coefficients for the majority of the phonon modes exhibit changes to lower values at P=4.0 GPa, which may be related to a structural modification of the 2D polymer to a more isotropic phase. The peculiarities observed in the Raman spectra are reversible and the material is stable in the pressure region investigated.     

高压下TiN等结构相变的第一性原理研究

 利用基于密度泛函理论的赝势平面波方法和线性响应理论,研究了TiN的物态方程、电子能带结构和声子色散曲线随压强的变化关系。结果表明：TiN 的电子能带结构并未随着压强的增加而出现反常,没有出现电子的拓扑结构相变;零压下出现软化的声子模式并没有随着压强的增加而继续软化。因此可以认为在0～12 GPa 压强范围内,TiN 发生等结构相变的原因不是由于电子的拓扑形貌发生变化和声子软化引起的。     

Anomalous high pressure dependence of the Jahn-Teller phonon in La(0.75)Ca(0.25)MnO(3)

Raman spectra of La(0.75)Ca(0.25)MnO(3) have been collected for the first time over a wide pressure range (0-14 GPa) using a diamond anvil cell. The frequency range explored (200-1100 cm(-1)) and the very good quality of the data allowed us to carefully analyze the pressure evolution of the phonon modes of the MnO(6) octahedra. The results show an abrupt transition at approximately 7.5 GPa with an evident deviation from the linear trend of the frequency of the Jahn-Teller phonon versus the applied pressure, accompanied by a strong phonon broadening. This behavior disagrees with the predicted insulator to metal transition and, on the contrary, indicates the occurrence of a new unpredicted phase in the very high pressure regime.     

外压下VN相变和力学性质的第一性原理研究

运用基于赝势平面波基组的密度泛函程序VASP并结合Quantum ESPRESSO,Phonopy软件包对压力下VN的结构、力学性质、声子色散关系进行了第一性原理的研究.分别对NaCl型（B1）,CsCl型（B2）,WC型（Bh）三种构型的VN进行了计算,三种结构的体积能量曲线、焓压关系和声子谱表明在常压下六角WC结构与立方结构相比更稳定.随着压力增加VN由Bh结构到B1结构的相变点发生在30GPa左右,而B1结构到B2结构的相变点可能发生在150GPa左右.常压下三种结构的VN是力学稳定的,其弹性常数和弹性模量都有随压强的增大而增加的趋势,三者都是脆性材料.B1结构和B2结构坐标基矢方向上的杨氏模量数值与体对角线方向上的差距较大,体现出明显的各向异性.随压力的增加B1结构各向异性程度增大而B2结构各向异性程度减小     

Phonon Spectrum and Structural Transformations at High Pressures in Vanadyl IV Phthalocyanine Crystals

The Raman scattering spectra and crystalline structure of vanadyl IV phthalocyanine (VOPc) at normal and high pressures has been studied. According to the X-ray diffraction data, the initial microcrystalline powder represented a mixture of the triclinic α phase (79%) and the monoclinic β phase (21%) possessing P$$\bar {1}$$ and P21/c symmetry, respectively. Raman spectra of the two phases are similar, but the phonon modes of the β phase are shifted toward higher frequencies (energies). The pressure dependence of the spectra of the α phase has been determined and it is established that the interval of 2.3–3.4 GPa reveals reversible pressure-dependent variations: above 3 GPa, some phonon modes exhibit splitting and the coefficients of pressure-induced (baric) shift for almost all modes show a decrease. A high-pressure feature observed in the Raman spectra can be related to changes in intermolecular interactions in crystalline structure of the α phase. The pressure dependence of the α phase unit cell volume measured at pressures increasing up to 4 GPa is a smooth monotonic function that can be well described by the Murnaghan equation of state. The obtained data were used to calculate the Grüneisen parameters of VOPc phonon modes.     

High pressure polymorph of CdS predicted by first principles

Ab initio phonon calculations on CdS are performed to probe the high pressure structural behaviors. We predicted an unstable transverse acoustic (TA) mode for NaCl-CdS (B1) and a phase transition of B1→Pmmn driven by this soft mode is thus identified, excluding probable high pressure Cmcm phase. Furthermore, a softening TA phonon mode at the zone boundary M point of CsCl-CdS (B2) is predicted, which results in the phase transition from Pmmn to tetrahedral P4/nmm (B10). Enthalpy calculation reveals that Pmmn phase becomes energetically more favorable than the B1 phase over 51.2 GPa, and B10 phase is stable in a pressure range of 80.3-85.5 GPa, above which B10 phase will decompose into Cd and S.     

Temperature dependence of bismuth structures under high pressure

It is unclear whether there is a liquid-liquid phase transition or not in the bismuth melt at high temperature and high pressure. If so, it will be necessary to confirm the boundary of the liquid-liquid phase transition and clarify whether it is a first-order phase transition. Here, based on x-ray absorption spectra and simulations, the temperature dependence of bismuth structures is investigated under different pressures. According to the similarity of characteristic peaks of x-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectra, we estimate the possible temperature ranges of liquid-liquid phase transition to be 779-799 K at 2.74 GPa and 859-879 K at 2.78 GPa, 809-819 K at 3.38 GPa and 829-839 K at 3.39 GPa and 729-739 K at 4.78 GPa. Using ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations, we obtain the stable structures of the bismuth melt at different temperatures and pressures, and calculated their electronic structures. Meanwhile, two stable phases (phase III-like and phase IV-like) of bismuth melts are obtained from different initial phases of bismuth solids (phase III and phase IV) under the same condition (3.20 GPa and 800 K). Assuming that the bismuth melt undergoes a phase transition from IV-like to III-like between 809 K and 819 K at 3.38 GPa, the calculated electronic structures are consistent with the XANES spectra, which provides a possible explanation for the first-order liquid-liquid phase transition.     

Hf-C体系的高压结构预测及电子性质第一性原理模拟

本论文中, 采用晶体结构预测软件USPEX结合第一性原理方法全面地搜索了Hf-C体系在高压下的晶体结构, 预测得到了两种新的化合物及HfC在高压下的相变路径. 压力低于100 GPa 时, 除了常压下的结构HfC, Hf₃C₂, Hf₆C₅, 并没有得到新的热力学稳定结构. 在200 GPa时, 预测得到了一种新化合物——Hf₂C, 空间群为I4/m; 且HfC的结构发生了相变, 空间群由Fm3m变为C2/m. 在300 GPa时, 预测得到了另一种新化合物——HfC₂, 空间群为Immm. 而在400 GPa时, HfC的结构再次发生相变, 空间群为Pnma. 通过能量计算, 得到了Hf-C体系的组分-压力相图: 在压力分别低于15.5 GPa和37.7 GPa时, Hf₃C₂和Hf₆C₅是稳定的; 压力分别大于102.5 GPa和215.5 GPa时, Hf₂C和HfC₂变成稳定化合物; HfC的相变路径为Fm3m→C2/m→Pnma, 相变压力分别为185.5 GPa 和322 GPa. 经结构优化后, 得到了这四种高压新结构的晶体学数据, 如晶格常数、原子位置等, 并分析了其结构特点. 对于Hf-C 体系中的高压热力学稳定结构, 分别计算了其弹性性质和声子谱曲线, 证明是力学稳定和晶格动力学稳定的. 采用第一性原理软件VASP模拟高压结构的能带结构、态密度、电子局域函数和Bader 电荷分析, 发现HfC(C2/m, Pnma结构), Hf₂C 和HfC₂ 中Hf-C 键具有强共价性、弱金属性和离子性, 且C-C 间存在共价作用.     

The Stable or Metastable Phases in Compressed Zn-O Systems

Variable-composition evolutionary structure searches are used to explore stable stoichiometrics for the Zn-0system below 300 GPa.Our results confirm the previous structural phase transition sequence of pressurised ZnO.ZnO is thermodynamically stable up to 300 GPa and zinc peroxide(ZnO_2,space group Pa3) is metastable under lower pressure.Insulating I4/mcm-ZnO_2 is thermodynamically stable between 128.3-300 GPa.Insulated metastable P3_121-ZnO_2,controlling the pressure range of 51.5-128.3 GPa,has a wide band gap compared to the Pa_3-ZnO_2 and I4/mcm-ZnO_2.Phonon and elastic constant calculations conclude the dynamical and mechanical stability for the explored thermodynamically stable or metastable structures.     

High pressure stabilization and emergent forms of PbH4

A wide decomposition pressure range of 132 GPa is predicted for PbH4 above which it emerges in very different forms compared with its group-14 congeners. This triply Born-Oppenheimer system is a nonmolecular, three-dimensional, metallic alloy, despite a prominent layered structure. A significant number of enthalpically near-degenerate structures, with exceedingly small energy barriers for distortions, and characteristic instabilities in the phonon spectra suggest that even at very high pressures PbH4 may exhibit both metallic and liquidlike properties and sublattice or even full melting.     

Band structure and pressure-induced metallic transition in iodine – GW calculation

We have studied the band structure and the band gap closure in phase I of solid iodine under high pressure, using the methods based on the quasiparticle theory, i.e. GW approximation. Our calculations show that the band gap in the Cmca structure, which is the structure of the phase I of solid iodine, closes around 20 GPa. This pressure is near the upper boundary of phase I. We discuss the possible metallic transition in the molecular phase of solid iodine and the possible changes of the crystal structure.     

Nanocrystals of cdte formed by the pressure cycle method

Recently, it has been shown that CdTe has two sucessive phase transitions over a narrow pressure range at ?3.5 GPa. In this work, the pressure cycle method using a Paris-Edinburgh cell up to 6 GPa has been applied to CdTe samples in order to obtain recovered CdTe nanocrystals which were characterized by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), electron diffraction and Raman scattering. Such retrieved nanocrystals are nearly spherical, with diameters ranging from 10 to 30 nm, and their structure is zinc-blende (ZB). Their Raman spectra is consistent with the CdTe phonon dispersion curves but reveal a phonon confinement effect.     

高压下有序晶态合金Fe3Pt的低能声子不稳定性及磁性反常

有序晶态Fe₃Pt因瓦合金处于一种特殊的磁临界状态, 这种磁临界状态下体系的晶格动力学稳定性对压力极为敏感. 基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理的投影缀加平面波方法研究了不同晶态合金的Fe₃Pt的焓和磁性随压力的变化规律, 结果表明, 在压力小于18.54 GPa下, P4/mbm结构是热力学稳定的相. Pm3m结构、I4/mmm结构、DO₂₂结构的Fe₃Pt在铁磁性坍塌临界压力附近体系的总磁矩急剧下降并具有振荡现象, 且I4/mmm结构和DO₂₂结构的Fe₃Pt 在临界压力附近出现了Fe1原子磁矩反转现象. 在43 GPa下, DO₂₂结构的Fe₃Pt出现了亚铁磁微观磁特性突然增强且伴随着体积突然增大的现象. 在高压下, 对Pm3m结构Fe₃Pt的晶格动力学计算表明, 压力小于26.95 GPa的铁磁态下体系的自发磁化诱导了体系横向声学支声子软化, 表明体系中存在很强的自发体积磁致伸缩. 特别是在铁磁性坍塌临界压力41.9 GPa至磁性完全消失的57.25 GPa压力区间, 晶格动力学稳定性对压力更加敏感. 压力大于57.25 GPa时, 压力诱导了体系声子谱的稳定.     

High pressure structural phase transitions of PbPo

First-principles calculations have been performed to investigate the high pressure phase transitions and dynamical properties of the less known lead polonium compound. The calculated ground state parameters for the NaCl phase show good agreement with the experimental data. The obtained results show that the intermediate phase transition for this compound is the orthorhombic Pnma phase. The PbPo undergoes from the rocksalt to Pnma phase at 4.20 GPa. Further structural phase transition from intermediate to CsCl phase has been found at 8.5 GPa. In addition, phonon dispersion spectra were derived from linear-response to density functional theory. In particular, we show that the dynamical properties of PbPo exhibit some peculiar features compared to other III–V compounds. Finally, thermodynamics properties have been also addressed from quasiharmonic approximation.     

Novel structures and mechanical properties of Zr2N:Ab initio description under high pressures

With the formation of structural vacancies,zirconium nitrides(key materials for cutting coatings,super wearresistance,and thermal barrier coatings) display a variety of compositions and phases featuring both cation and nitrogen enrichment.This study presents a systematic exploration of the stable crystal structures of zirconium heminitride combining the evolutionary algorithm method and ab initio density functional theory calculations at pressures of 0 GPa,30 GPa,60 GPa,90 GPa,120 GPa,150 GPa,and 200 GPa.In addition to the previously proposed phases P42/mnm-,Pnnn-,and Cmcm-Zr2 N,five new high-pressure Zr₂N phases of PA/nmm,IA/mcm,P2₁/m,P3 m1,and C2/m are discovered.An enthalpy study of these candidate configurations reveals various structural phase transformations of Zr2 N under pressure.By calculating the elastic constants and phonon dispersion,the mechanical and dynamical stabilities of all predicted structures are examined at ambient and high pressures.To understand the structure-property relationships,the mechanical properties of all Zr₂N compounds are investigated,including the elastic moduli,Vickers hardness,and directional dependence of Young’s modulus.The Cmncm-Zr2 N phase is found to belong to the brittle materials and has the highest Vickers hardness(12.9 GPa) among all candidate phases,while the I4/mcm-Zr2 N phase is the most ductile and has the lowest Vickers hardness(2.1 GPa).Furthermore,the electronic mechanism underlying the diverse mechanical behaviors of Zr2 N structures is discussed by analyzing the partial density of states.     

Raman phonon spectra and lattice dynamics of 9,10-dinitroanthracene under pressure

Abstract

Raman phonon spectra of 9, 10-dinitroanthracene have been recorded in the pressure range 0-6GPa. No phase transition is detected up to the maximum pressure studied. Quasi Harmonic Lattice Dynamics calculations, based on an atom-atom potential previously modeled on homologous 9,10-disubstituted anthracenes, have been performed. The optimized potential was used to calculate the equilibrium geometry and the lattice phonon frequencies as a function of pressure. The calculated structure at ambient conditions closely resembles the experimental one. The calculated phonon frequencies show a good agreement with the experimental values at all pressures measured.     

High-pressure dynamic,thermodynamic properties,and hardness of CdP_2

Using a pseudopotential plane-waves method,we calculate the phonon dispersion curves,thermodynamic properties,and hardness values of α-CdP_2 and β-CdP_2 under high pressure.From the studies of the phonon property and enthalpy difference curves,we discuss a phase transform from β-CdP_2 to a-CdP_2 in a pressure range between 20 GPa and 25 GPa.Then,the thermodynamic properties,Debye temperatures,and heat capacities are investigated at high pressures.What is more,we employ a semiempirical method to evaluate the pressure effects on the hardness for these two crystals.The results show that the hardness values of both α-CdP_2 and β-CdP_2 increase as pressure is increased.The influence mechanism of the pressure effect on the hardness of CdP_2 is also briefly discussed.