Quantum-Chemical Calculation of the Electronic Structure and Ionic Conductivity of Lead Hexaferrite with a Magnetoplumbite Structure

The ab initio linear muffin-tin orbital method in a tight binding approximation (LMTO-TB) and semiempirical extended Hückel theory (EHT) were used to study the electronic structure, chemical binding, and ion conductivity of hexaferrite PbFe₁₂O₁₉. The analysis of chemical bonds showed that Fe–O interactions play the dominant role in the chemical bonding in hexagonal ferrites, the covalent component of the Pb–O bond being insignificant. The metallic Fe–Fe bonds have been found. The predicted increased mobility of Pb²⁺ ions in the structure of magnetoplumbite agrees well with the experimental parameters of lead diffusion and ion–electron conductivity in PbFe₁₂O₁₉. The mechanism of migration of lead ions in the structure of the hexaferrite is discussed.     

Ground state of BaCoS2 as a set of energy-degenerate orbital-ordered configurations of Co2+ ions

The linear muffin-tin orbital method in the local density approximation (LDA + U) explicitly considering Coulomb correlations has been applied to calculate the electronic structure, magnetic moments, and parameters of the Heisenberg exchange interaction for cobalt ions in BaCoS₂. Five solutions close in total energy with various orbital ordering of Co²⁺ ions and almost identical spin magnetic moments μ = 2.32μ_B of the Co²⁺ ion 3d-shell have been found. The BaCoS₂ ground state can be considered as a set of energy-degenerate orbital-ordered configurations of Co²⁺ ions in the high-spin state.     

Electronic Structure and Chemical Bonding in Monoclinic and Cubic Li2-xHxTiO3 (0≤ x ≤ 2)

The linear muffintin orbitals method in a tight binding approximation and extended Huckel theory are used to study the electronic structure and chemical bonding of lithium titanate (Li₂TiO₃) and its protonated analogs (Li_1.75H_0.25TiO₃ and H₂TiO₃). The effect of protons on electron spectrum characteristics and bond strength are investigated for the monoclinic and cubic phases of lithium titanate. Phase stability is evaluated by cohesion energy calculations.     

Electronic structure and chemical bonding in oxygen conductors β-Bi4V2O11 and γ-Bi4V2O11

Ab initio calculations of the electron density are fulfilled for bismuth vanadate polymorphs: β-Bi₄V₂O₁₁ and γ-Bi₄V₂O₁₁. A semiconductor-type spectrum is obtained for both phases. The calculated bandgap value decreases in the direction from the β to γ phase. Chemical bond analysis shows an increase in the strength of covalent interactions in the series of Bi-V, Bi-O, and V-O bonds. The V-O bond strength in β-Bi₄V₂O₁₁ is appreciably higher than in the γ phase. The relatively weak binding of oxygen in the tetragonal structure of γ-Bi₄V₂O₁₁ confirms the possibility of easier oxygen transport in the γ phase than in the β phase. The stability of the bismuth vanadate polymorphs and the oxygen-disorder features in the γ-Bi₄V₂O₁₁ structure are discussed using the results of calculation of the total energies of the phases. Bond overlap population analysis explains the existence of the homogeneous range and the feasibility of doping β-Bi₄V₂O₁₁ and γ-Bi₄V₂O₁₁. The possibility of using four-and five-charged d cations as stabilizers of the crystal structure of bismuth vanadates is discussed.     

Electronic structure and optical properties of anatase doped with bismuth and carbon

The calculations of the electronic structure of pure anatase and the anatase doped with carbon and/or bismuth have been carried out using the ab initio tight-binding linear muffin-tin orbital (TB-LMTO) method in the local spin density approximation with the inclusion of single-site Coulomb correlations (LSDA + U). The dielectric function, absorption coefficient, and refractive index have been calculated in the random phase approximation. It has been found that, upon doping, narrow bands of carbon and bismuth impurity states are formed in the band gap. The calculations of the optical absorption coefficient have demonstrated that the C,Bi-doping can lead to the absorption in the visible region and an enhancement of the absorption in the near-ultraviolet region. Therefore, the C,Bi-doping can increase the photocatalytic activity on the surface of doped anatase.     

Elastic properties of a La<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>Pr<Subscript>0.2</Subscript>Ca<Subscript>0.3</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> single crystal

The temperature dependences of the velocity of longitudinal sound and internal friction in the ferromagnetic La_0.5Pr_0.2Ca_0.3MnO₃ single crystal with magnetic first-order phase transition were studied. It was found that the sound velocity decreases by ≈20% in transition from the ferromagnetic to paramagnetic state. In the paramagnetic region, the extended temperature hysteresis of the sound velocity and the internal friction was observed. It was shown that La_0.5Pr_0.2Ca_0.3MnO₃ has two paramagnetic phases with different sound velocities.     

Synthesis and photocatalytic activity of Ti[1 ? x]VxO[2 ? y]Cy whiskers in hydroquinone oxidation in aqueous solutions

Ti_1−x V _x O_2−y C _y (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.10 and x = 0.50) whiskers having the anatase structure were synthesized via thermolysis of vanadium-doped titanium glycolate of composition Ti_1−x V _x (OCH₂CH₂O)₂ (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.10 and x = 0.50). The starting reagents used to prepare Ti_1−x V _x (OCH₂CH₂O)₂ were mixtures of coprecipitated titanium and vanadyl hydroxides, which were heated in ethylene glycol at T ≤ 200°C: (1 − x)TiO(OH)₂ + xVO(OH)₂ + 2HOCH₂CH₂OH = Ti_1−x V _x (OCH₂CH₂O)₂ + 3H₂O↑. Thermolysis of vanadium-doped titanium glycolate in various gas media over a wide range of temperatures is useful to prepare titania samples doped with both vanadium and carbon to form a phase of the general composition Ti_{1 − x} V _x O_{2 − y} C _y whiskers prepared by thermolyzing Ti_{1 − x} V _x (OCH₂CH₂O)₂ in air at 450°C were found to have a high photocatalytic activity in hydroquinone oxidation in aqueous solutions irradiated in the UV spectral range; the photocatalyst’s activity increases with increasing vanadium concentration. When hydroquinone was irradiated in the blue, the maximal catalytic activity was discovered in a sample of composition Ti_0.50V_0.50O_2−y C _y . Quantum-chemical calculations support experimental data that the double doping of titania (Ti_1−x V _x O_2−y C _y ) enhances its photocatalytic activity compared to undoped anatase or anatase doped in one sublattice: Ti_1−x V _x O₂ and TiO_2−y C _y .     

First-principles calculations of the electronic structure of fluorite-type crystals (CaF2, BaF2, SrF2, and PbF2) containing Frenkel defects. Analysis of optical and transport properties

The electronic structure of the alkali-earth fluorides CaF₂, BaF₂, SrF₂, and PbF₂ with Frenkel defects is investigated in the tight-binding approximation by the LMTO method. The defect formation and migration energies are calculated. The electronic structure and optical excitations of a H center in a defective fluorite structure are examined. It is shown on the basis of calculations of the binding energies that CaF₂, BaF₂, and SrF₂ are ionic compounds, while the chemical bond in PbF₂ is partially covalent. Possible methods of displacement of interstitial fluorine atoms that lead to the observed optical spectra of an H center are investigated. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 2019–2025 (November 1998)     

Peculiarities of Chemical Binding in Anhydrous Lead(II) and Tin(II) Hexacyanoferrates(II,III)

The electronic structure and chemical binding of anhydrous lead and tin hexacyanoferrates(II,III) Pb₂Fe(CN)₆, Pb_1.5Fe(CN)₆, and Sn₂Fe(CN)₆ were studied by the linear muffm-tin orbital (tight binding approximation) and extended Hückel theory methods. The general tendencies of variation for the stability of the Pb–N, Sn–N, Fe–C, and C–N bonds were determined for Pb₂Fe(CN)₆, Pb_1.5Fe(CN)₆, and Sn₂Fe(CN)₆ crystals. Peculiarities of Pb(Sn)–N chemical interactions in the structure of the phases have been found.     

Oxide ceramics BIMEVOX: Conductivity,structure, and chemical bond

The processes of synthesis, ranges of stable existence, structure, and migration characteristics of complex oxides of the BIMEVOX series are studied experimentally and theoretically.