Structural and Electrical Properties of Be_xZn_(1-x)O Alloys under High Pressure

We conduct extensive research into the structures of Be_xZn_1-xOO ternary alloys in a pressure range of 0-60GPa,using the ab initio total energy evolutionary algorithm and total energy calculations,finding several metastable structures.Our pressure-composition phase diagram is constructed using the enthalpy results.In addition,we calculate the electronic structures of the Be_xZn_1-xOO structures and investigate the bandgap values at varying pressures and Be content.The calculated results show that the bandgap of the Be_xZn_1-xOO ternary alloys increases with an increase in Be content at the same pressure.Moreover,the bandgap of the Be_xZn_1-xOO ternary alloys increases with the increasing pressure with fixed Be content.At the same Be content,the formation enthalpy of the Be_xZn_1-xOO ternary alloys first decreases,then increases with the increasing pressure.     

Structural stability and electrical properties of AIB2-type MnB2 under high pressureStructural stability and electrical properties of AIB2-type MnB2 under high pressureStructural stability and electrical properties of AIB2-type MnB2 under high pressureStructural stability and electrical properties of AIB2-type MnB2 under high pressure

The structural stability and electrical properties of A1B2-type MnB2 were studied based on high pressure angle- dispersive x-ray diffraction, in situ electrical resistivity measured in a diamond anvil cell （DAC） and first-principles calcu- lations under high pressure. The x-ray diffraction results show that the structure of A1B2-type MnB2 remains stable up to 42.6 GPa. From the equation of state of MnB2, we obtained a bulk modulus value of 169.9~3.7 GPa with a fixed pressure derivative of 4, which indicates that A1B2-type MnB2 is a hard and incompressible material. The electrical resistance un- dergoes a transition at about 19.3 GPa, which can be explained by a transition of manganese 3d electrons from localization to delocalization under high pressure.     

Pressure Induced Metallization in the ε Phase of Solid Oxygen by ab initio Pseudopotential Plane-Wave Calculations

We perform an ab initio study on the electronic structure and charge density of the c-oxygen under high pressure, which is obtained by powder x-ray diffraction experiment recently. Our results show that the hybridization among the σg^＊, πu and πg^＊ bands in the e-oxygen are not significant even at megabar pressure. Pressure-induced metallization occurs due to the band overlapping near the Fermi level at about 50 GPa. A new network along the b-axis is formed and the 08 characteristic in the e phase disappears above 50 GPa even though the symmetry remains unchanged.     

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.     

Pressure-induced superconducting ternary hydride H3SXe: A theoretical investigation

In general, heavy elements contribute only to acoustic phonon modes, which are less important for the superconductivity of hydrides. However, it was revealed that the heavier elements could enhance the phonon-mediated superconductivity in ternary hydrides. In the H₃S–Xe system, a novel H₃SXe compound was discovered by first-principle calculations. The structural phase transitions of H3SXe under high pressures were studied. The R-3m phase of H₃SXe was predicted to appear at pressures above 80 GPa, which transitions to C2/m, P-3m1, and Pm-3m phases at pressures of 90, 160, and 220 GPa, respectively. It has been anticipated that the Pm-3m-H₃SXe phase with a similar structural feature as that of Im-3m-H₃S is a potential high-temperature superconductor with a T_c of 89 K at 240 GPa. The T_c value of H₃SXe is lower than that of H₃S at high pressure. The “H₃S” host lattice of Pm- 3m-H₃SXe is a crucial factor influencing the T_c value. The Xe atoms could accelerate the hydrogen-bond symmetrization. With the increase of the atomic number, the T_c value linearly increases in the H₃S–noble-gas-element system. This indicates that the superconductivity can be modulated by changing the relative atomic mass of the noble-gas element.     

First-Principles Studies on Properties of Boron-Related Impurities in c-BN

We investigate, by first-principles calculations, the pressure dependence of formation enthalpies and defective geometry and bulk modulus of boron-related impurities （VB, Cs, NB, and OB） with different charged states in cubic boron nitride （c-BN） using a supercell approach. It is found that the nitrogen atoms surrounding the defect relax inward in the case of CB, while the nitrogen atoms relax outward in the other cases. These boron-related impurities become much more stable and have larger concentration with increasing pressure. The impurity CB^＋1 is found to have the lowest formation enthalpy, make the material exhibit semiconductor characters and have the bulk modulus higher than ideal c-BN and than those in the cases of other impurities. Our results suggest that the hardness of c-BN may be strengthened when a carbon atom substitutes at a B site.     

Structural stability and electrical properties of AlB2-type MnB2 under high pressure

The structural stability and electrical properties of AlB2-type MnB2 were studied based on high pressure angledispersive x-ray diffraction, in situ electrical resistivity measured in a diamond anvil cell(DAC) and first-principles calculations under high pressure. The x-ray diffraction results show that the structure of AlB2-type MnB2 remains stable up to 42.6 GPa. From the equation of state of MnB2, we obtained a bulk modulus value of 169.9±3.7 GPa with a fixed pressure derivative of 4, which indicates that AlB2-type MnB2 is a hard and incompressible material. The electrical resistance undergoes a transition at about 19.3 GPa, which can be explained by a transition of manganese 3d electrons from localization to delocalization under high pressure.     

Preferred orientations of encapsulated C60 molecules inside single wall carbon nanotubes

A systematical study of the orientational behavior of C60 molecules in single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with different chirality and diameter has been performed by using a model of an infinite long nanotube filled with two C60 (denoted as C60-1 and C60-2) molecules. We studied the preferred orientation of the C60-1 molecule when the neighboring C60-2 molecule was fixed at the pentagon, double-bond, and hexagon orientations respectively. Our results showed that the C60-1 molecule prefers the pentagon (hexagon) orientation when the tube diameter is smaller (larger) than 1.31nm (1.36nm). For the tube diameter in between, the preferred molecular orientation of C60-1 changes from pentagon to hexagon with the increasing tube diameter when the neighboring C60-2 molecule is fixed at the pentagon or double-bond orientation. A novel vertex orientation for the C60-1 molecule has been found when the C60-2 molecule is fixed at the hexagon orientation.