First Principle Calculation on Aun Ag2 (n = 1 ～ 4) Clusters

The first-principles method based on density-functional theory is used to investigate the geometries of the lowest-lying isomers of Aun Ag2 (n = 1 ～ 4) clusters. Several low-lying isomers are determined, and many of them in electronic configurations with a high spin multiplicity. The stability trend of Ag-doped Aun clusters is compared to that of pure Aun clusters. Our results indicate that the inclusion of two Ag atoms in the clusters lowers the cluster stability, indicating higher stability as the structures grow in size. The bigger energy difference between the Aun and Aun Ag2 curves as the structures grows in size. This information will be useful to understanding the enhanced catalytic activity and selectivity gained by using silver-doped gold catalyst.     

First Principle Calculation on AunAg2 （n = 1 - 4） Clusters

The first-principles method based on density-functional theory is used to investigate the geometries of the lowest-lying isomers of AunAg2 （n = 1 - 4） clusters. Several low-lying isomers are determined, and many of them in electronic configurations with a high spin multiplicity. The stability trend of Ag-doped Aun dusters is compared to that of pure Aun clusters. Our results indicate that the inclusion of two Ag atoms in the clusters lowers the cluster stability, indicating higher stability as the structures grow in size. The bigger energy difference between the Aun and AunAg2 curves as the structures grows in size. This information will be useful to understanding the enhanced catalytic activity and selectivity gained by using silver-doped gold catalyst.     

Geometries,stabilities, and electronic properties analysis in In_nNi~((0,±1)) clusters: Molecular modeling and DFT calculations

Density functional theory(DFT) with the B3 LYP method and the SDD basis set is selected to investigate In_nNi,In_nNi~-, and In_nNi~+ (n = 1–14) clusters. For neutral and charged systems, several isomers and different multiplicities are studied with the aim to confirm the most stable structures. The structural evolution of neutral, cationic, and anionic In_nNi clusters, which favors the three-dimensional structures for n = 3–14. The main configurations of the In_nNi isomers are not affected by adding or removing an electron, the order of their stabilities is also nearly not affected. The obtained binding energy exhibits that the Ni-doped In_(13) cluster is the most stable species of all different sized clusters. The calculated fragmentation energy and the second-order energy difference as a function of the cluster size exhibit a pronounced even–odd alternation phenomenon. The electronic properties including energy gap(E_g), adiabatic electron affinity(AEA), vertical electron detachment energy(VDE), adiabatic ionization potential energy(AIP), and vertical ionization potential energy(VIP) are studied. The total magnetic moments show that the different magnetic moments depend on the number of the In atoms for charged In_nNi. Additionally, the natural population analysis of In_nNi~((0,±1)clusters is also discussed.     

Density-functional investigation of 3d,4d,5d impurity doped Au6 clusters

The general features of the geometries and electronic properties for 3d,4d,and 5d transition-metal atom doped Au 6 clusters are systematically investigated by using relativistic all-electron density functional theory in the generalized gradient approximation(GGA).A number of structural isomers are considered to search the lowest-energy structures of M@Au 6 clusters(M=3d,4d and 5d transition-metal atoms),and the transition metal atom locating in the centre of an Au 6 ring is found to be in the ground state for all the M@Au 6 clusters.All doped clusters,expect for Pd@Au 6,show large relative binding energies compared with a pure Au 7 cluster,indicating that doping by 3d,4d,5d transition-metal atoms could stabilize the Au 6 ring and promote the formation of a new binary alloy cluster.     

Energy and structure of copper clusters （n=70-150） studied by the Monte Carlo computer simulation

The structure and binding energy of copper clusters of the size range 70 to 150 were studied by using the embeddedatom method. The stability of the structure of the clusters was studied by calculating the average binding energy per atom, first difference energy and second difference energy of copper cluster. Most of the copper clusters of the size n=70-150 adopt an icosahedral structure. The results show that the trends are in agreement with theoretic prediction for copper clusters. The most stable structures for copper clusters are found at n=77, 90, 95, 131, 139.     

Structural and bonding properties of ScSi_n~-(n=2～6) clusters:photoelectron spectroscopy and density functional calculations

Anion ion photoelectron spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) are used to investigate the electronic and structural properties of ScSin-(n=2～6) clusters and their neutrals. We find that the structures of ScSin- are similar to those of Sin+1- . The most stable isomers of ScSi n cluster anions and their neutrals are similar for n=2,3 and 5 but different for n=4 and 6,indicating that the charge effect on geometry is size dependent for small scandium-silicon clusters. The low electron binding energy (EBE) tails observed in the spectra of ScSi4,6- can be explained by the existence of less stable isomers. A comparison between ScSin- and VSin- clusters shows the effects of metal size and electron configuration on cluster geometries.     

A density-functional theory for (BAs)n clusters (n=1 14): structures, stabilities and electronic properties

This paper investigates the lowest-energy structures,stabilities and electronic properties of (BAs) n clusters (n=1-14) by means of the density-functional theory.The results show that the lowest-energy structures undergo a structural change from two-dimensional to three-dimensional when n=4.With the increase of the cluster size (n 6),the (BAs) n clusters tend to adopt cage-like structures,which can be considered as being built from B 2 As 2 and six-membered rings with B-As bond alternative arrangement.The binding energy per atom,second-order energy differences,vertical electron affinity and vertical ionization potential are calculated and discussed.The caculated HOMO-LUMO gaps reveal that the clusters have typical semiconductor characteristics.The analysis of partial density of states suggests that there are strong covalence and molecular characteristics in the clusters.     

First-principles influence of study of GaTAs7 multi-charge on ionic cluster and its structure

This paper investigates the structures and stabilities of neutral GaTAs7 cluster and its ions in detail by using first-principles density functional theory. Many low energy structures of GaTAs7 cluster are found. It confirms that the ground state structure of neutral GaTAs7 cluster is a pentagonal prism with four face atoms like a basket structure, as reported by previous works. The ground state structures of positive Ga7As7 cluster ions are different from that of the neutral cluster. These investigations suggest that Ga atoms occupy the capping positions more easily than As atoms. Mulliken population analyses also show that Ga atoms can lose or obtain charge more easily than As atoms. It finds that the neutral GaTAs7 cluster can become more stable by gaining one or two additional electrons but further more electrons would cause the decrease of binding energy. The ionisation energy increases with the increase of the number of the removed electrons. These calculated results indicate that the net magnetic moment of the neutral GaTAs7 cluster is zero because all electrons axe paired together in their respective moleculax orbits. But for the ionic GaTAs7 cluster with odd number of electrons, the net magnetic moment is 1.0 μB due to an unpaired electron.     

Electronic Energy Levels in an Asymmetric Quantum-Dots-in-a-Well Structure for Infrared Photodetectors

Theoretical calculation of electronic energy levels of an asymmetric InAs/InGaAs/GaAs quantum-dots-in-a-well （DWELL） structure for infrared photodetectors is performed in the framework of effective-mass envelope-function theory. Our calculated results show that the electronic energy levels in quantum dots （QDs） increase when the asymmetry increases and the ground state energy increases faster than the excited state energies. Furthermore, the results also show that the electronic energy levels in Q Ds decrease as the size of QDs and the width of quantum well （QW） in the asymmetric DWELL structure increase. Additionally, the effects of asymmetry, the size of QDs and the width of QW on the response peak of asymmetry DWELL photodetectors are also discussed.     

First-Principles Study of Geometries,Stabilities and Electronic Properties of Ca2Sin （n=1-11） Clusters

The equilibrium geometries, relative stabilities, and electronic properties of Ca2Sin （n = 1-11） clusters have been systematically investigated by using the density function theory at the 6-311G （d） level The optimized geometries indicate that the most stable isomers have three-dimensional structures for n = 3-11. The electronic properties of Ca2 Sin （n = 1-11） dusters axe obtained through the analysis of the natural charge population, natural electron configuration, vertical ionization potential, and vertical electron affinity. The results show that the charges in corresponding Ca2Sin clusters transfer from the Ca atoms to the Sin host. Based on the obtained lowest-energy geometries, the size dependence of cluster properties, such as averaged binding energies, fragmentation energies, second-order energy differences, HOMO- LUMO gaps and chemical hardness, are deeply discussed.     

Structural,electronic and magnetic properties of the Mn-Ni(110) c(2×2) surface alloy

<正>Using first-principles total energy method,we study the structural,the electronic and the magnetic properties of the MnNi(110) c(2×2) surface alloy.Paramagnetic,ferromagnetic,and antiferromagnetic surfaces in the top layer and the second layer are considered.It turns out that the substitutional alloy in the outermost layer with ferromagnetic surface is the most stable in all cases.The buckling of the Mn-Ni(110) c(2×2) surface alloy in the top layer is as large as 0.26 A(1 A=0.1 nm) and the weak rippling is 0.038 A in the third layer,in excellent agreement with experimental results.It is proved that the magnetism of Mn can stabilize this surface alloy.Electronic structures show a large magnetic splitting for the Mn atom,which is slightly higher than that of Mn-Ni(100) c(2×2) surface alloy(3.41 eV) due to the higher magnetic moment.A large magnetic moment for the Mn atom is predicted to be 3.81μB.We suggest the ferromagnetic order of the Mn moments and the ferromagnetic coupling to the Ni substrate,which confirms the experimental results.The magnetism of Mn is identified as the driving force of the large buckling and the work-function change.The comparison with the other magnetic surface alloys is also presented and some trends are predicted.     

Electronic structure of twinned ZnS nanowire

The electronic properties of twinned ZnS nanowires （NWs） with different diameters were investigated based on first-principles calculations. The energy band structures, projected density of states and the spatial distributions of the bottom of conduction band and the top of the valence band were presented. The results show that the twinned nanowires exhibit a semiconducting character and the band gap decreases with increasing nanowire diameter due to quantum confinement effects. The valence band maximum and conduction band minimum originate mainly from the S-p and Zn-s orbitals at the core of the nanowires, respectively, which was confirmed by their spatial charge density distribution. We also found that no heterostructure is formed in the twinned ZnS NWs since the valence band maximum and conduction band minimum states are distributed along the NW axis uniformly. We suggest that the hexagonal （2H） stacking inside the cubic （3C） stacking has no effect on the electronic properties of thin ZnS NWs.     

Ab-initio density functional theory study of a WO3 NHa-sensing mechanism

WO3 bulk and various surfaces are studied by an ab-initio density functional theory technique. The band structures and electronic density states of WO3 bulk are investigated. The surface energies of different WO3 surfaces are compared and then the （002） surface with minimum energy is computed for its NH3 sensing mechanism which explains the results in the experiments. Three adsorption sites are considered. According to the comparisons of the energy and the charge change between before and after adsorption in the optimal adsorption site Olc, the NH3 sensing mechanism is obtained.     

Electronic and Optical Properties of Rock-Salt AIN under High Pressure via First-Principles Analysis

Electronic and optical properties of rock-salt AIN under high pressure are investigated by first -principles method based on the plane-wave basis set. Analysis of band structures suggests that the rock-salt AIN has an indirect gap of 4.53 eV, which is in good agreement with other results. By investigating the effects of pressure on the energy gap, the different movement of conduction band at X point below and above 22.5 GPa is predicted. The optical properties including dielectric function, absorption, reflectivity, and refractive index are also calculated and analyzed. It is found that the rock-salt AIN is transparent from the partially ultra-violet to the visible light area and hardly does the transparence affected by the pressure. Furthermore, the curve of optical spectrum will shift to high energy area （blue shift） with increasing pressure.     

Structural,electronic, and magnetic properties of boron cluster anions doped with aluminum：BnAl-（2〈n〈9）

The geometrical structures, relative stabilities, electronic and magnetic properties of small BnAl-（2〈n〈9）clusters are systematicalyy investigated by using the first-principles density functional theory. The results show that the A1 atom prefers to reside either on the outer-side or above the surface, but not in the centre of the clusters in all of the most stable BnAl-（2〈n〈9） isomers and the one excess electron is strong enough to modify the geometries of some specific sizes of the neutral clusters. All the results of the analysis for the fragmentation energies, the second-order difference of energies, and the highest occupied-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy gaps show that B4A1- and B8A1- clusters each have a higher relative stability. Especially, the BsA1-cluster has the most enhanced chemical stability. Furthermore, both the local magnetic moments and the total magnetic moments display a pronounced oddeven oscillation with the number of boron atoms, and the magnetic effects arise mainly from the boron atoms except for the B7A1- and BgA1- clusters.     

A density functional theory structures,stabilities, and study on size-dependent electronic properties of bimetallic MnAgm （M=Na,Li; n ＋ m ≤ 7） clusters

The equilibrium geometries, relative stabilities, and electronic properties of MnAgm（M=Na, Li; n ＋ m ≤ 7） as well as pure Agn, Nan, Lin （n ≤ 7） clusters are systematically investigated by means of the density functional theory. The optimized geometries reveal that for 2 ≤ n ≤ 7, there are significant similarities in geometry among pure Agn, Nan, and Lin clusters, and the transitions from planar to three-dimensional configurations occur at n = 7, 7, and 6, respectively. In contrast, the first three-dimensional （3D） structures are observed at n ＋ m = 5 for both NanAgm and LinAgm clusters. When n ＋ m ≥5, a striking feature is that the trigonal bipyramid becomes the main subunit of LinAgm. Furthermore, dramatic odd-even alternative behaviours are obtained in the fragmentation energies, secondorder difference energies, highest occupied and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy gaps, and chemical hardness for both pure and doped clusters. The analytic results exhibit that clusters with an even electronic configuration （2, 4, 6） possess the weakest chemical reactivity and more enhanced stability.     

Elastic and Thermodynamic Properties of CdSe from First-Principles Calculations

The lattice parameters, bulk modulus, phase transition pressure, and temperature dependencies of the elastic constants cij of CdSe are investigated by using the Cambridge Serial Total Energy Package （CASTEP） program in the frame of Density Functional Theory （DFT）. It is found that the phase transitions from the ZB structure to the RS structure and from WZ structure to RS structure are 2.2 GPa and 2.8 GPa, respectively. Our results agree well with the available experimental data and other theoretical results. The aggregate elastic modulus （B, G, E, A ）, the Poisson＇s ratio （v）, the Griuneisen parameter （γ）, the Debye temperature θD on pressure and temperature are also successfully obtained.     

Structures and Stability of Metal Amidoboranes （MAB）： Density Functional Calculations

Molecule geometry structures, frequencies, and energetic stabilities of ammonia borane （AB, NH3BH3 ） and metal amidoboranes （MAB, MNH2BH3）, formed by substituting H atom in AB with one of main group metal atoms, have been investigated by density-functional theory and optimized at the B3LYP levels with 6-311G＋＋ （3dr, 3pd） basic set. Their structural parameters and infrared spectrum characteristic peaks have been predicted, which should be the criterion of a successfully synthesized material. Several parameters such as binding energies, vibrational frequencies, and the energy gaps between the HOMO and the LUMO have been adopted to characterize and evaluate their structure stabilities. It is also found that the binding energies and HOMO-LUMO energy gaps of the MAB obviously change with the substitution of the atoms. MgAB has the lowest binding energy and is easier to decompose than any other substitutional structures under same conditions, while CaAB has the highest chemical activity.     

Probing the thermoelectric transport properties of n-type Bi2Te3 close to the limit of constitutional undercooling

Bulk n-type Bi2Te3 single crystals with optimized chemical composition were successfully prepared by a high temperature-gradient directional solidification method. We investigate the influence of alloy microstructure, chemical composition, and growth orientation on the thermoelectric transport properties. The results show that the composition of single-crystal Bi2Te3 alloy, along the c axis direction, could be slightly tuned by changing the growth rate of the crystal. At a rate of 18 mm/h, the formed Bi2Te3 crystal exhibits good thermoelectric properties. At 300 K, a maximum Seebeck coefficient of -245 μV/K and an electrical conductivity of 5.6 × 10 4 S/m are acquired. The optimal power factor is ob- tained as 3.3 × 10 -3 W/K2m, with a figure of merit of 0.74. It can be attributed to the increased tellurium allocation in the Bi2Te3 alloys, as verified well by the density functional theory caLculations.     

Mechanical and thermodynamic properties of cubic YH_2 under high pressure:Prediction from first-principles study

First-principles calculations are used to investigate the mechanical and thermodynamic properties of cubic YH2 at different pressures and temperatures. The generalized gradient approximation （GGA） with Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof （PBE） method is used to describe the exchange-correlation energy in the present work. The calculated equilibrium lattice constant a and bulk modulus B are in good accordance with the available experimental values. According to the Born-Huang criteria for mechanical stability, elastic constants are calculated from the strain-induced stress method in a pressure range from 0 to 67.1 GPa. Isotropic wave velocities and sound velocities are discussed in detail. It is found that the Debye temperature decreases monotonically with the increase of pressure and that YH2 has low anisotropy in both longitudinal and shear-wave velocities. The calculated elastic anisotropic factors indicate that YH2 has low anisotropy at zero pressure and that its elastic anisotropy increases as pressure increases. Through the quasi-harmonic Debye model, in which phononic effects are considered, the thermodynamic properties of YH2, such as the relations of （V-Vo）/Vo to the temperature and the pressure, the dependences of heat capacity Cv and thermal expansion coefficient a on temperature and pressure ranging from 0 to 2400 K and from 0 to 65 GPa, respectively, are also discussed.