Structural and Thermodynamic Properties of Gallium Arsenide with Hexagonal Wurtzite Structure from First-Principles Analysis

A first-principles plane wave method with the ultrasoft pseudopotential scheme in the frame of the generalized gradient approximation （GGA） is performed to calculate the lattice parameters, the bulk modulus Bo and its pressure derivative B~o of the hexagonal wurtzite GaAs （w-GaAs） by the Cambridge serial total energy package （CASTEP）. Our calculations show that the most stable structure of the w-GaAs corresponds to the axial ratio c/α = 1.651 and the internal parameter u = 0.374, consistent with other theoretical results. Also, the thermodynamic properties of the w-GaAs are investigated from the quasi-harmonic Debye model. The dependences of the normalized lattice parameters α/α0, c/c0, the axial ratio c/α, the normalized volume V/V0, the heat capacity Cv and the thermal expansion α on pressure P and temperature T are also obtained successfully.     

Structural and Thermodynamic Properties of Cerium via First-Principles Plane Wave Method with a Relativistic Analytic Pseudopotential

We investigate the structural and thermodynamic properties of cerium in α phase by using the first-principles plane wave method with a relativistic analytic pseudopotential of Hartwigsen, Goedcker and Hutter (HGH) scheme in the frame of local density approximation (LDA). The obtained lattice constant and bulk modulus are consistent with the available experimental data. Moreover, dependences of the normalized primitive volume V/V₀ on pressure and the thermodynamic quantities (including the Grüneisen constant γ and thermal expansion α) on temperature and pressure are obtained. The obtained linear thermal expansion parameter α (9.857× 10^-6K^-1 at 293.15K and 0GPa) is slightly larger than the experimental value (6.3×10^-6K^-1). All the results indicate that we provide an effective method to deal with the ground properties of the strongly interacting d- and/or f-electron systems.     

First-Principles Calculations for Elastic Properties of ZnS under Pressure

The pressure dependence of elastic properties of ZnS in zinc-blende （ZB） and wurtzite （WZ） structures are investigated by the generalized gradient approximation （GGA） within the plane-wave pseudopotential density functional theory （DFT）. Our results are in good agreement with the available experimental data and other theoretical results. From the high-pressure elastic constants obtained, we find that the ZB and WZ structures of ZnS are unstable when the applied pressures are larger than 15.8 GPa and 21.3 GPa, respectively. The sound velocities along different directions for the two structures are also obtained. It is shown that as pressure increases, the sound velocities of the shear wave decrease, and those of all the longitudinal waves increase. An analysis has been made to reveal the anisotropy and highly noneentral forces in ZnS.     

Structural, Elastic and Electronic Properties of ReO2

Structural, elastic and electronic properties of ReO₂ are investigated by first-principles calculations based on density functional theory. The ground stateof ReO₂ has an orthorhombic symmetry which belongs to space group Pbcn with a=4.7868Å b=5.5736Å, and c=4.5322Å. The calculated bulk moduli are 322GPa, 353GPa, and 345GPa for orthorhombic, tetragonal, and monoclinic ReO₂, respectively, indicating that ReO₂ has a strong incompressibility. ReO₂ is a metal ductile solid and presents large elastic anisotropy. The obtained Debye temperatures are 850K for orthorhombic, 785K for tetragonal, and 791K for monoclinic ReO₂.     

First-Principles Study of Structural and Electronic Properties of Layered B2CN Crystals

Based on the hexagonal BN structure, six possible layered B~ CN structures are constructed. Their total energies, lattice constants as well as electronic properties are calculated using the ab initio pseudopotential density functional method within the local density approximation. The calculated results show that the B2 CN-V configuration with AA stacking sequence is the most stable among the six B2CN layered structures. The characteristics of electronic structures indicate that the B2 CN-V shows metallicity, which mainly comes from -B1-C-B1-C- chains.     

Electronic Structure and Optical Properties of La-Doped SrTiO3 and Sr2TiO4 by Density Function Theory

The effect of La doping on the electronic structure and optical properties of SrTiO₃ and Sr₂TiO₄ is investigated by the first-principles calculation of plane wave ultrasoft pseudopotential based on the density function theory (DFT). The calculated results reveal that the electron doping in the case of Sr_0.875La_0.125TiO₃ and Sr_1.875La_0.125TiO₄ can be described within the rigid band model. The La³⁺ ions fully acts as electron donors in Sr_0.875La_0.125TiO₃ and Sr_1.875La_0.125TiO₄ systems and the Fermi level shifts further into the conduction bands (CBs) for Sr_1.875La_0.125TiO₄ compared to Sr_0.875La_0.125TiO₃. The two systems exhibit n-type degenerate semiconductor features. At the same time, the density of states (DOS) of the two systems shift towards low energies and the optical band gaps are broadened. The Sr_1.875La_0.125TiO₄ is highly transparent with the transmittance about 90% in the visible range, which is larger than that of Sr_0.875La_0.125TiO₃(85%). The wide band gap, small transition probability and weak absorption due to the low partial density of states (PDOS) of impurity in the Fermi level result in the optical transparency of the films...     

Effect of In-Doping on Electronic Structure and Optical Properties of Sr2TiO4

The effect of In doping on the electronic structure and optical properties of Sr2 TiO4 is investigated by a firstprinciples calculation of plane wave ultrasoft pseudopotentials based on density functional theory. The calculated results reveal that corner-shared TiO6 octahedra dominate the main electronic properties of Sr2TiO4 and the covalency of the Ti-O（1） bond in the ab plane is stronger than that of the Ti-O（2） bond along the c-axis. After In doping, there is a little lattice expansion in Sr2In0.125 Ti0.875 O4 and the interaction between the Ti-O bond near the impurity In atom is weakened. The binding energies of Sr2TiO4 and Sr2In0.125Ti0.875O4 estimated from the electronic structure calculations indicate that the crystal structure of Sr2In0.125 Ti0.875 O4 is still stable after doping, but its stability is lower than that of undoped Sr2TiO4. Moreover, the valence bands （VBs） of the Sr2In0.125Ti0.875O4 system consist of O 2p and In 4d states, and the mixing of O 2p and In 4d states makes the top VBs shift significantly to high energies, resulting in visible light absorption. The adsorption of visible light is of practical importance for the application of St2 TiO4 as a photocatalyst.     

Li- Site and Metal-Site Ion Doping in Phosphate-Olivine LiCoPO4 by First-Principles Calculation

We present a first-principles investigation of the crystal and electronic structure as well as the average insertion voltage of the Li-site （by Na and Cr） and metal-site （by isovalent Ni, Zn, Ca, Mg and Mn and aliovalent Cu, Al, In, Mo and Zr） doped LiCoPO4. The results show that both the Li-site doping and metal-site doping may reduce the volume change of the material during Li extraction/reinsertion process. The metal doped at Li-site will block the path of Li ion diffusion. The doping by aliovalent transition metals will introduce defect levels in the energy band. It could influence the conductivity insertion voltage.     

Coupling of Magnetization and Structural Distortions in Multiferroic BiFeO3： an Ab Initio Density Functional Theory Study

The coupling between magnetism and structural distortions in BiFeO3 （BFO） is investigated using density functional theory by considering the spin-orbit effect. Computational results show that the resulting magnetization M is rotated by reversal of sense of rotation of the oxygen octahedra in the double cell. The resulting magnetization is determined by the antiferrodistortive （AFD） distortions and ferroelectric （FE） displacements. This work clarifies the previous view that magnetism is only coupled with, and determined by, FE displacements. The excellent ferroelectricity is attributed significantly to the anomaly of Born effective charge of Bi, which is caused by the stereochemically active long pair of Bi 6s.     

Geometric and Electronic Properties of SrCoO2.5: An LSDA+U Study

The geometric and electronic properties of SrCoO_2.5 have been studied using the local-spin density approximation together with the Hubbard method. The geometric optimization shows that the energy of a unit supercell for SrCoO_2.5 with the space group Pnma is at least 1.37eV lower than the others, so we infer that the Pnma structure is the ground state of SrCoO_2.5 at low temperature. The electronic band structure calculations demonstrate that the paramagnetic ordering SrCoO_2.5 at high temperature has the character of an indirect band gap semi-conductor, while the antiferromagnetic ordering SrCoO_2.5 at low temperature has the character of a conductor. The magnetism calculation shows that the magnetic moment of Co is 2.96μ_B, comparable with the experimental measurement at the liquid nitrogen temperature, i.e. 3.30±0.5μ_B.     

Electronic Structure of Si1-xⅣx/Si Superlattices on Si （001）

We have preformed systematical ab initio studies of the structural and electronic properties of short-period Si1-xⅣx/Si （x = 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, Ⅳ=Ge, Sn） superlattices （SLs） grown along the [001] direction on bulk Si. The present calculations reveal that the Si0.875Ge0.125/Si, Si0.75Ge0.25/Si and Si0.875Sn0.125/Si are the F-point direct bandgap semiconductors. The technological importance lies in the expectation that the direct gap Si1-xⅣx/Si SLs may be used as components in integrated optoelectronic devices, in conjunction with the already well-established and highly advanced silicon technology.     

First-Principles Study of Structural Stabilities, Electronic and Optical Properties of SrF2 under High Pressure

An investigation of structural stabilities, electronic and optical properties of SrF2 under high pressure is conducted using a first-principles calculation based on density functional theory （DFT） with the plane wave basis set as implemented in the CASTEP code. Our results predict that the second high-pressure phase of SrF2 is of a Ni2In- type structure, and demonstrate that the sequence of the pressure-induced phase transition of SrF2 is the fluorite structure （Fm3m） to the PbC12-type structure （Pnma）, and to the Ni2In-type phase （P63/mmc）. The first and second phase transition pressures are 5. 77 and 45.58 GPa, respectively. The energy gap increases initially with pressure in the Fm3m, and begins to decrease in the Pnma phases at 30 GPa. The band gap overlap metallization does not occur up to 210 GPa. The pressure effect on the optical properties is discussed.     

First-Principles Calculations of Phase Transition and Stability of Si2CN4 under High Pressure

A pressure-induced phase transition and stability in Si2 CN4 polymorphs under high pressure are studied by firstprinciples calculations. The result shows that the phase transition pressure of α- and β-Si2 CN4 to the cubic spinal phase is 29.9 GPa and 27.5 GPa predicted by thermodynamic method respectively. Under ambient condition, all of the three Si2CN4 polymorphs are metastable with positive formation enthalpy. Unlike the stability of Si3N4 polymorphs, α-Si2 CN4 is more stable than the β phase.     

First-principles prediction of coexistence of magnetism and ferroelectricity in rhombohedral Bi2FeTiO6

First principles calculations based on the density functional theory within the local spin density approximation plus U(LSDA + U) scheme, show rhombohedral Bi₂FeTiO₆ is a potential multiferroic in which the magnetism and ferroelectricity coexist. A ferromagnetic configuration with magnetic moment of 4μB per formula unit has been reported with respect to the minimum total energy. Spontaneous polarization of 27.3 μC/cm², caused mainly by the ferroelectric distortions of Ti, was evaluated using the berry phase approach in the modern theory of polarization. The Bi-6s stereochemical activity of long-pair and the ‘d⁰-ness’ criterion in off-centring of Ti were coexisting in the predicted new system. In view of the oxidation state of Bi³⁺, Fe²⁺, Ti⁴⁺, and O²⁻ from the orbital-resolved density of states of the Bi-6p, Fe-3d, Ti-3d, and O-2p states, the valence state of Bi₂FeTiO₆ in the rhombohedral phase was found to be Bi³⁺₂Fe²⁺Ti⁴⁺O₆.     

Pressure and Temperature Induced Phase Transition of ZnS from First-Principles Calculations

The pressure induced phase transition of ZnS from the wurtzite （WZ） and the zincblende （ZB） structures to the rocksalt （RS） structure and the temperature induced phase transition from the ZB structure to the WZ structure are investigated by ab initio plane-wave pseudopotential density-functional theory （DFT）, together with the quasiharmonic Debye model. It is found that the zero-temperature transition pressures from the WZ-ZnS and the ZB-ZnS to the RS-ZnS are 17.20 and 17.37 GPa, respectively. The zero-pressure transition temperature from the ZB-ZnS to the WZ-ZnS is 1199 K. All these results are consistent with the available experimental data. Moreover, the dependences of the normalized primitive cell volume V/V0 on pressure and thermal expansion coefficient α on temperature are also obtained successfully.     

Elastic Properties of Rutile TiO2 at High Temperature

Dependence of elastic properties on temperature for rutile TiO2 is investigated by the Cambridge Serial Total Energy Package （CASTEP） program in the frame of density function theory （DFT） and the quasi-harmonic Debye model The six independent elastlc constants of rutile TiO2 at high temperature are theoretically obtained for the first time. It is found that with increasing temperature, the elastic constants will decrease monotonically. Moreover, we successfully obtain the polycrystalline moduli BH and GH, as well as the Debye temperature ⊙D.     

The electronic structure and magnetic properties of metallic antiferromagnetic Co[(CH3PO3)(H2O)] studied by first-principles calculations

The electronic structure, the metallic and magnetic properties of metal phosphonate Co[(CH₃PO₃)(H₂O)] have been studied by first-principles calculations, which were based on the density-functional theory (DFT) and the full potential linearized augmented plane wave (FPLAPW) method. The total energy, the spin magnetic moments and the density of the states (DOS) were all calculated. The calculations reveal that the compound Co[(CH₃PO₃)(H₂O)] has a stable metallic antiferromagnetic (AFM) ground state and a half-metallic ferromagnetic (FM) metastable state. Based on the spin distribution obtained from calculations, it is found that the spin magnetic moment of the compound is mainly from the Co²⁺, with some small contributions from the oxygen, carbon and phosphorus atoms, and the spin magnetic moment per molecule is 5.000μ_B, which is in good agreement with the experimental results.     

First-principles study of the structural and thermodynamic properties of AsNMg3 antiperovskite

The structural and elastic properties of the antiperovskite semiconductor AsNMg₃ are investigated using the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave plus local orbital (FP-LAPW+lo) method within the generalized gradient in the frame of the density functional theory. The ground state properties such as lattice constant, bulk modulus, pressure derivative of the bulk modulus and elastic constants are in good agreement with numerous experimental and theoretical data. Through the quasi-harmonic Debye model, in which the phononic effects are considered, we have obtained successfully the thermodynamic properties such as the thermal expansion coefficient, Debye temperature and specific heats in the whole pressure range from 0 to 30 GPa and temperature range from 0 to 1200 K.     

Mechanical Properties and Electronic Structures of Cotunnite TiO2

Based on the first-principles plane-wave basis pseudopotential calculations, we investigate mechanical properties and electronic structures of the hardest known oxide, cotunnite TiO2. The calculated results show that cotunnite TiO2 has the highest bulk modulus （348 GPa） and hardness （32 GPa） among the high-pressure phases of TiO2, but its mechanical properties are not superior to those of c-BN. Moreover, the high hardness of cotunnite TiO2 can be understood from both the dense crystal structure （high valence electron density and short bond lengths） and the unusual mixtures of covalent and ionic bonding of Ti-O.     

First-Principles Calculations of Structures and Electronic Properties of Solid Pentaerythritol under Pressure

Structures and electronic properties of the pentaerythritol （PE） crystal under volume compression up to 0.85V0 are studied by E - V fitting method using density functional theory （DFT）. The compression dependences of the cell volumes, lattice constants, and molecular geometries of solid PE are presented and discussed. It is found that the solid PE presents anisotropy along a- and c-axes, and the c axis is the most compressible. Decreasing anisotropy ratio （c/a） with elevating compression suggests an enhancement of the vdW interaction with increasing compression. The C-C and C-H bonds are significantly reduced under compression, which may be related to the sensitivity. The solid PE has indirect band gap （X - G） in the range of the researched compression and the band gap is decreased with compression.