Structural properties of rutherfordium: An ab-initio study

The structural and electronic properties of rutherfordium, the latest group IV B element, have been evaluated by first principles density functional theory in scalar relativistic formalism with and without spin-orbit coupling and compared with its 5d homologue Hf. It is found that Rf will crystallize in the hexagonal close packed structure as in Hf. However, under pressure, it will have different sequence of phase transitions than Hf: hcp→bcc instead of hcp→ω→bcc. An explanation is offered for this difference in terms of the competition between the band structure and the Ewald energy contributions.