Mechanical and thermodynamic properties of the monoclinic and orthorhombic phases of SiC_2N_4 under high pressure from first principles

First principles calculations are preformed to systematically investigate the electronic structures, elastic and thermodynamic properties of the monoclinic and orthorhombic phases of Si C2N4 under pressure. The calculated structural parameters and elastic moduli are in good agreement with the available theoretical values at zero pressure. The elastic constants of the two phases under pressure are calculated by stress–strain method. It is found that both phases satisfy the mechanical stability criteria within 60 GPa. With the increase of pressure, the degree of the anisotropy decreases rapidly in the monoclinic phase, whereas it remains almost constant in the orthorhombic phase. Furthermore, using the hybrid density-functional theory, the monoclinic and orthorhombic phases are found to be wide band-gap semiconductors with band gaps of about 2.85 e V and 3.21 e V, respectively. The elastic moduli, ductile or brittle behaviors, compressional and shear wave velocities as well as Debye temperatures as a function of pressure in both phases are also investigated in detail.     

Structural,elastic, electronic,and thermodynamic properties of MgAgSb investigated by density functional theory

The structural, elastic, electronic, and thermodynamic properties of thermoelectric material Mg Ag Sb in γ, β, α phases are studied with first-principles calculations based on density functional theory. The optimized lattice constants accord well with the experimental data. According to the calculated total energy of the three phases, the phase transition order is determined from α to γ phase with cooling, which is in agreement with the experimental result. The physical properties such as elastic constants, bulk modulus, shear modulus, Young's modulus, Poisson's ratio, and anisotropy factor are also discussed and analyzed, which indicates that the three structures are mechanically stable and each has a ductile feature. The Debye temperature is deduced from the elastic properties. The total density of states(TDOS) and partial density of states(PDOS) of the three phases are investigated. The TDOS results show that the γ phase is most stable with a pseudogap near the Fermi level, and the PDOS analysis indicates that the conduction band of the three phases is composed mostly of Mg-3s,Ag-4d, and Sb-5p. In addition, the changes of the free energy, entropy, specific heat, thermal expansion of γ-MgAgSb with temperature are obtained successfully. The obtained results above are important parameters for further experimental and theoretical tuning of doped MgAgSb as a thermoelectric material at high temperature.     

Elastic and thermodynamic properties of vanadium nitride under pressure and the effect of metallic bonding on its hardness

By the particle-swarm optimization method, it is predicted that tetragonal P42mc, 141md, and orthorhombic Amm2 phases of vanadium nitride （VN） are energetically more stable than NaCl-type structure at 0 K. The enthalpies of the predicted three new VN phases, along with WC, NaC1, AsNi, CsCl type structures, are calculated each as a function of pressure. It is found that VN exhibits the WC-to-CsCl type phase transition at 256 GPa. For the considered seven crystal- lographic VN phases, the structures, elastic constants, bulk moduli, shear moduli, and Debye temperatures are investigated. Our calculated equilibrium structural parameters are in very good agreement with the available experimental results and the previous theoretical results for the NaC1 phase. The Debye temperatures of VN predicted three novel phases, which are all higher than those of the remaining structures. The elastic constants, thermodynamic properties, and elastic anisotropies of VN under pressure are obtained and the mechanical stabilities are analyzed in detail based on the mechanical stability criteria. Moreover, the effect of metallic bonding on the hardness of VN is also investigated, which shows that VNs in P42mc, 141md, and Amm2 phases are potential superhard phases. Further investigation on the experimental level is highly recommended to confirm our calculations presented in this paper.     

Theoretical investigation on the electronic structure,elastic properties, and intrinsic hardness of Si2N20

According to the density functional theory we systematically study the electronic structure, the mechanical prop- erties and the intrinsic hardness of Si2N2O polymorphs using the first-principles method. The elastic constants of four Si2N2O structures are obtained using the stress-strain method. The mechanical moduli （bulk modulus, Young’s mod-ulus, and shear modulus） are evaluated using the Voigt-Reuss-Hill approach. It is found that the tetragonal Si2N2O exhibits a larger mechanical modulus than the other phases. Some empirical methods are used to calculate the Vickers hardnesses of the Si2N2O structures. We further estimate the Vickers hardnesses of the four Si2N2O crystal structures, suggesting all Si2N2O phases are not the superhard compounds. The results imply that the tetragonal Si2N2O is the hardest phase. The hardness of tetragonal Si2N2O is 31.52 GPa which is close to values of β-Si3N4 and γ-Si3N4.     

Ab initio calculations of the elastic, electronic, optical, and vibrational properties of PdGa compound under pressure

The structural, elastic, electronic, optical, and vibrational properties of cubic PdGa compound are investigated using the norm-conserving pseudopotentials within the local density approximation (LDA) in the framework of the density functional theory. The calculated lattice constant has been compared with the experimental value and has been found to be in good agreement with experimental data. The obtained electronic band structures show that PdGa compound has no band gap. The second-order elastic constants have been calculated, and the other related quantities such as the Young’s modulus, shear modulus, Poisson’s ratio, anisotropy factor, sound velocities, and Debye temperature have also been estimated. Our calculated results of elastic constants show that this compound is mechanically stable. Furthermore, the real and imaginary parts of the dielectric function and the optical constants such as the electron energy-loss function, the optical dielectric constant and the effective number of electrons per unit cell are calculated and presented in the study. The phonon dispersion curves are also derived using the direct method.     

Theoretical investigation on the electronic structure, elastic properties, and intrinsic hardness of Si2N2O

According to the density functional theory we systematically study the electronic structure, the mechanical prop- erties and the intrinsic hardness of Si2N2O polymorphs using the first-principles method. The elastic constants of four Si2N2O structures are obtained using the stress-strain method. The mechanical moduli (bulk modulus, Young’s mod- ulus, and shear modulus) are evaluated using the Voigt-Reuss-Hill approach. It is found that the tetragonal Si2N2O exhibits a larger mechanical modulus than the other phases. Some empirical methods are used to calculate the Vickers hardnesses of the Si2N2O structures. We further estimate the Vickers hardnesses of the four Si2N2O crystal structures, suggesting all Si2N2O phases are not the superhard compounds. The results imply that the tetragonal Si2N2O is the hardest phase. The hardness of tetragonal Si2N2O is 31.52 GPa which is close to values of β-Si3N4 and γ-Si3N4.     

Theoretical investigation on the electronic structure,elastic properties,and intrinsic hardness of Si₂N₂O

According to the density functional theory we systematically study the electronic structure, the mechanical prop- erties and the intrinsic hardness of Si2N2O polymorphs using the first-principles method. The elastic constants of four Si2N2O structures are obtained using the stress-strain method. The mechanical moduli (bulk modulus, Young’s mod- ulus, and shear modulus) are evaluated using the Voigt-Reuss-Hill approach. It is found that the tetragonal Si2N2O exhibits a larger mechanical modulus than the other phases. Some empirical methods are used to calculate the Vickers hardnesses of the Si2N2O structures. We further estimate the Vickers hardnesses of the four Si2N2O crystal structures, suggesting all Si2N2O phases are not the superhard compounds. The results imply that the tetragonal Si2N2O is the hardest phase. The hardness of tetragonal Si2N2O is 31.52 GPa which is close to values of β-Si3N4 and γ-Si3N4.     

The stabilities, electronic structures and elastic properties of Rb-As systems

The structural, electronic and elastic properties of Rb–As systems (RbAs in NaP, LiAs and AuCu structures, RbAs2 in the MgCu2 structure, Rb3 As in Na3As, Cu3 P and Li3Bi structures, and Rb5 As4 in the A5B4 structure) are investigated with the generalized gradient approximation in the frame of density functional theory. The lattice parameters, cohesive energies, formation energies, bulk moduli and the first derivatives of the bulk moduli (to fit Murnaghan’s equation of state) of the considered structures are calculated and reasonable agreement is obtained. In addition, the phase transition pressures are also predicted. The electronic band structures, the partial densities of states corresponding to the band structures and the charge density distributions are presented and analysed. The second-order elastic constants based on the stress-strain method and other related quantities such as Young’s modulus, the shear modulus, Poisson’s ratio, sound velocities, the Debye temperature and shear anisotropy factors are also estimated.     

First principles study of the diffusional phenomena across the clean and Re-doped γ-Ni/γ'-Ni_3Al interface of Ni-based single crystal superalloy

Density functional theory calculations in conjunction with the climbing images nudged elastic band method are conducted to study the diffusion phenomena of the Ni-based single crystal superalloys.We focus our attention on the diffusion processes of the Ni and Al atoms in the γ and γ ' phases along the direction perpendicular to the interface.The diffusion mechanisms and the expressions of the diffusion coefficients are presented.The vacancy formation energies,the migration energies,and the activation energies for the diffusing Ni and Al atoms are estimated,and these quantities display the expected and clear transition zones in the vicinity of the interface of about 3–7(002) layers.The local density-of-states profiles of atoms in each(002) layer in the γ and γ ' phases and the partial density-of-states curves of Re and some of its nearest-neighbor atoms are also presented to explore the electronic effect of the diffusion behavior.     

DFT Investigation of Structural,Electronic,Elastic and Optical Properties of SrMO_4(M=Mo and W)

A planes waves pseudo-potential calculations are performed for the SrMO_4(M=Mo and W) compound in order to investigate the structural, electronic, elastic and optical properties. The calculated lattice constants are in good agreement with experiment ones. The electronic structures show that SrMO_4 has a direct band gap situated at Γpoint. The calculated elastic constants indicate that both structures are mechanically stable. The bulk modulus, shear modulus, Young's modulus and Poisson ratio are investigated from the elastic constants, in the same time the anisotropy of the elastic properties is discussed. The imaginary part of the dielectric functions is calculated and the contributions of various transitions peaks are analyzed. Furthermore, the other optical properties such as absorption coefficient I(ω),optical reflectivity R(ω), energy-loss spectrum L(ω), and the refractive index n(ω) have been investigated.     

First-Principles Calculation of Static Equation of State and Elastic Constants for GaSe

The all-electron full potential augmented plane-wave plus local orbital （APW_Io） method with the local-density approximation （LDA） is used to calculate the static equation of state （EOS） and elastic constants of crystalline GaSe. After the full relaxation of atomic positions, the calculated band structure at ambient pressure is consistent with the experimental data to the extent expected to give the known limits of LDA one-electron energies. The equilibrium lattice parameters found here exhibit the usual LDA-induced contraction. However, constrained with the experimental cell volume, the interlayer separation exhibits an expansion due to the LDA underestimate of the weak interlayer bonding. The calculated values of elastic constants are in good agreement with acoustic measurements. The pressure derivatives of the lattice constants derived from the theoretical elastic constants are in very good agreement with x-ray spectra measurements. Two analytical EOSs have been determined at pressures up to 4.5 GPa. The pressure evolution of the structure indicates that the layer thickness decreases slightly under pressure.     

mechanical and thermodynamic properties of α-and β-Si3N4 ceramics： ab initio and quasi-harmonic Debye modeling

The plane-wave pseudo-potential method within the framework of ab initio technique is used to investigate the structural and elastic properties of α-and β-Si3N4. The ground-state parameters accord quite well with the experimental data. Our calculation reveals that α-Si3N4 can retain its stability to at least 40 GPa when compressed at 300 K. The α → β phase transformation would not occur in a pressure range of 0-40 （3Pa and a temperature range of 0 300 K. Actually, the α → β transition occurs at 1600 K and 7.98 GPa. For α-and β-Si3N4, the c axes are slightly more incompressible than the a axes. We conclude that β-Si3N4 is a hard material and ductile in nature. On the other hand, β-Si3N4 is also found to be an ionic material and can retain its mechanical stability in a pressure range of 0 - 010 GPa. Besides, the thermodynamic properties such as entropy, heat capacity, and Debye temperature of α-and β-Si3N4 are determined at various temperatures and pressures. Significant features in these properties are observed at high temperature. The calculated results are in good agreement with available experimental data and previous theoretical values. Many fundamental solid-state properties are reported at high pressure and high temperature. Therefore, our results may provide useful information for theoretical and experimental investigations of the Si3N4 polymorphs.     

Elastic properties of anatase titanium dioxide nanotubes:A molecular dynamics study

The elastic properties of anatase nanotubes are investigated by molecular dynamics(MD) simulations. Young's modulus, Poisson ratio, and shear modulus are calculated by transversely isotropic structure model. The calculated elastic constants of bulk rutile, anatase, and Young's modulus of nanotube are in good agreement with experimental values, respectively, demonstrating that the Matsui and Akaogi(MA) potential function used in the simulation can accurately present the elastic properties of anatase titanium dioxide nanotubes. For single wall anatase titanium dioxide nanotube, the elastic moduli are shown to be sensitive to structural details such as the chirality and radius. For different chirality nanotubes with the same radius, the elastic constants are not proportional to the chiral angle. The elastic properties of the nanotubes with the chiral angle of 0° are worse than those of other chiral nanotubes. For nanotubes with the same chirality but different radii, the elastic constant, Young's modulus, and shear modulus decrease as the radius increases. But there exist maximal values in a radius range of 10 nm–15 nm. Such information can not only provide a deep understanding of the influence of geometrical structure on nanotubes mechanical properties, but also present important guidance to optimize the composite behavior by using nanotubes as the addition.     

First-principles study of the structural, elastic, electronic, optical, and vibrational properties of intermetallic Pd2Ga

The structural,elastic,electronic,optical,and vibrational properties of the orthorhombic Pd2Ga compound are investigated using the norm-conserving pseudopotentials within the local density approximation in the frame of density functional theory.The calculated lattice parameters have been compared with the experimental values and found to be in good agreement with these results.The second-order elastic constants and the other relevant quantities,such as the Young’s modulus,shear modulus,Poisson’s ratio,anisotropy factor,sound velocity,and Debye temperature,have been calculated.It is shown that this compound is mechanically stable after analysing the calculated elastic constants.Furthermore,the real and imaginary parts of the dielectric function and the optical constants,such as the optical dielectric constant and the effective number of electrons per unit cell,are calculated and presented.The phonon dispersion curves are derived using the direct method.The present results demonstrate that this compound is dynamically stable.     

First-Principles Study of Structural,Elastic and Electronic Properties of OsSi

First-principles study of structural, elastic, and electronic properties of the B20 structure OsSi has been reported using the plane-wave pseudopotential density functional theory method. The calculated equilibrium lattice and elastic constants are in good agreement with the experimented data and other theoretical results. The dependence of the elastic constants, the aggregate elastic modulus, the deviation from the Cauchy relation, the elastic wave velocities in different directions and the elastic anisotropy on pressure have been obtained and discussed. This could be the first quantitative theoretical prediction of the elastic properties under high pressure of OsSi compound. Moreover, the electronic structure calculations show that OsSi is a degenerate semiconductor with the gap value of 0.68 eV, which is higher than the experimental value of 0.26 eV. The analysis of the PDOS reveals that hybridization between Os d and Sip states indicates a certain covalency of the Os-Si bonds.     

Investigation of analytical harmonic frequency and potential energy function,vibrational levels for the X^2∑^＋ and A^2Л states of CN radical

This paper calculates the equilibrium structure and the potential energy functions of the ground state （X^2∑^＋） and the low lying excited electronic state （A^2Л） of CN radical are calculated by using CASSCF method. The potential energy curves are obtained by a least square fitting to the modified Murrell-Sorbie function. On the basis of physical theory of potential energy function, harmonic frequency （ωe） and other spectroscopic constants （ωeχe, βe and αe） are calculated by employing the Rydberg-Klei-Rees method. The theoretical calculation results are in excellent agreement with the experimental and other complicated theoretical calculation data. In addition, the eigenvalues of vibrational levels have been calculated by solving the radial one-dimensional SchrSdinger equation of nuclear motion using the algebraic method based on the analytical potential energy function.     

High-pressure elastic anisotropy and superconductivity of hafnium:A first-principles calculation

The elastic anisotropy and superconductivity upon hydrostatic compression of α, ω, and β Hf are investigated using first-principle methods. The results of elastic anisotropies show that they increase with increasing pressure for α andω phases, while decrease upon compression for β phase. The calculated superconducting transition temperatures are in excellent agreement with experiments. Electron–phonon coupling constants(λ) are increasing with pressure for α and ωphases, while decreasing for β phase. For β phase, the large values of λ are mainly due to the obvious TA1 soft mode.Under further compression, the TA1 soft vibrational mode will disappear gradually.     

Ab initio study of structural,electronic,thermo-elastic and optical properties of Pt3Zr intermetallic compound

Structural,elastic,electronic and optical properties of the Pt3Zr intermetallic compound are investigated using first principles calculations based on the density functional theory(DFT)within the generalized gradient approximation(GGA)and the local density approximation(LDA).The Pt3Zr compound is predicted to be of cubic L12 and hexagonal D024 structures.The calculated equilibrium ground-state properties(lattice parameters a and c,bulk modulus B and its pressure derivative B',formation enthalpy ΔH)of the Pt3Zr compound,for both cubic and hexagonal phases,show good agreement with the experimental results and other theoretical data.Elastic constants(C11,C12,C13,C33,C44,and C55)are calculated.The predicted elastic properties such as Young's modulus E and shear modulus GH,Poisson ratioν,anisotropic ratio A,Kleinman parameter ξ,Cauchy pressure(C12-C44),ratios B/C44 and B/G,and Vickers hardness Hv indicate the stiffness,hardness and ductility of the compound.Thermal characteristic parameters such as Debye temperature θD and melting temperature Tm are computed.Electronic properties such as density of states(DOS)and electronic specific heat γ are also reported.The calculated results reveal that the Fermi level is on the psedogap for the D024 structure and on the antibonding side for the L12 structure.The optical property functions(real partε1(ω)and imaginary part ε2(ω)of dielectric function),optical conductivity σ(ω),refraction index n(ω),reflectivity R(ω),absorption α(ω)and extinction coefficients k(ω)and loss function L(ω)are also investigated for the first time for Pt3Zr in a large gamme of energy from 0 to 70 eV.     

Structure—Depandent Electronic and Optical Properties of the Martensitic Alloys TiAu

The atomic and electronic structures together with the optical properties of TiAu in the low-temperature B19 and B11 phases are calculated by using first principles local density functional approaches.Our results show that the B11 structure is more stable than B19 for the TiAu alloy in ordered equiatomic composition (Ti:Au=50:50).At low temperatures,the B11 structure should exist as a binary alloy from the energetic consideration.The accurate atomic positions in the unit cell have been given by fully force relaxed calculations.The calculated optical conductivities of B19 and B11 phases show a drastic change in the region of 1.5 to 3.5eV.     

First-principles study of structural,elastic, and thermodynamic properties of ZrHf alloy

Structural parameters, elastic constants, and thermodynamic properties of ordered and disordered solid solutions of Zr Hf alloys are investigated through first-principles calculations based on density-functional theory(DFT). The special quasi-random structure(SQS) method is used to model the disordered phase as a single unit cell, and two lamella structures are generated to model the ordered alloys. Small strains are applied to the unit cells to measure the elastic behavior and mechanical stability of Zr Hf alloys and to obtain the independent elastic constants by the stress–strain relationship. Phonon dispersions and phonon density of states are presented to verify the thermodynamic stability of the considered phases. Our results show that both the ordered and disordered phases of Zr Hf alloys are structurally stable. Based on the obtained phonon frequencies, thermodynamic properties, including Gibbs free energy, entropy, and heat capacity, are predicted within the quasi-harmonic approximation. It is verified that there are no obvious differences in energy between ordered and disordered phases over a wide temperature range.