Structural,elastic, thermodynamic and electronic properties of LuX (X = N,Bi and Sb) compounds: first principles calculations

ABSTRACT

The structural, electronic, elastic and thermodynamic properties of LuX (X = N, Bi and Sb) based on rare earth into phases, Rocksalt (B1) and CsCl (B2) have been investigated using full-potential linearized muffin-tin orbital method (FP-LMTO) within density functional theory. Local density approximation (LDA) for exchange-correlation potential and local spin density approximation (LSDA) are employed. The structural parameters as lattice parameters a₀, bulk modulus B, its pressure derivate B’ and cut-off energy (E_c) within LDA and LSDA are presented. The elastic constants were derived from the stress–strain relation at 0 K. The thermodynamic properties for LuX using the quasi-harmonic Debye model are studied. The temperature and pressure variation of volume, bulk modulus, thermal expansion coefficient, heat capacities, Debye temperature and Gibbs free energy at different pressures (0–50 GPa) and temperatures (0–1600 K) are predicted. The calculated results are in accordance with other data.     

A first principles calculation of site occupancy of the B2 phase in Ti2AlX (X=V,Cr, Fe,Mo, Ta,Nb, Zr,Hf and Re) intermetallics

The site occupancy of the B2 phase in Ti₂AlX (X=V, Cr, Fe, Mo, Ta, Nb, Zr, Hf and Re) intermetallics have been studied using first principles pseudo potential plane wave method.The Ti, Al and X atoms are arranged in five different ways, in the lattice sites corresponding to B2 structure of Ti₃Al. In Ti₃AlX, the X atoms are substituted at the Ti and / or Al sites. Further, the equilibrium lattice constants and the formation energy (E_for) of these intermetallics with different site occupancies in the B2 phase have been predicted. The formation energy values suggest that the B2 phase is stable in all alloys. Amongst the five cases in a particular alloy, stable configuration is identified with the minimum E_for and is further considered for the calculations of mechanical properties. All the alloys are mechanically stable in terms of Born stability criteria and show anisotropic behaviour. All the alloys display ductile behaviour in terms of G/B ratio.     

Effect of non-metallic X(X=F,N, S) and Cr co-doping on properties of BiFeO3: A first-principles study

In this study, the structural, magnetic, electric and optical properties in X (X=F, N, S) and Cr co-doped BiFeO₃ (BFO) are calculated using the density functional theory. For Cr–X co-doping case, the structure of BFO undergo a phase transition from monoclinic to triclinic structure accompanying net magnetic moments of 5.92 μB, 6.04 μB and 7.80 μB, for Cr–F co-doping, Cr–N co-doping and Cr–S co-doping, respectively. The underlying physical mechanisms are the lattice distortions tunned by doping. The decreased Fe–O–Fe bond angles and Fe–O bond lengths will bring weak antiferromagnetism superexchange interaction. In addition, the band gaps of Cr–X co-doping cases are decreased from 2.20 eV (BFO bulk) to 1.31 eV and 1.80 eV for Cr–F co-doping and Cr–S co-doping, respectively, which are well for photovoltaic applications according to the well-known Shockley-Queisser criterion, suggesting a possible great improvement optical properties in Cr–X co-doped samples.     

Ab initio calculations on the structural and lattice dynamical properties of TmX (X=As,P) compounds

The structural and lattice dynamical properties of TmX (X=As, P) compounds were investigated using normconserving pseudopotentials within the generalized gradient approximation correction (GGA) of Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof (PBE) in the framework of density functional theory (DFT). The structural parameters (a₀, B, B′, E_coh) were determined through total energy and interatomic force minimization and the overall agreement was found to be good. The pressure dependence of the ratios of normalized lattice parameters a/a₀, normalized volume V/V₀, bulk modulus, elastic constants, Zener anisotropy factor, Poisson's ratio, Young's modulus, shear modulus, and the brittleness were presented and discussed. The thermodynamical properties such as thermal expansion, heat capacity, Debye temperature, and Grüneisen parameter were calculated employing the quasi-harmonic Debye model at different temperatures (0–1000 K) and pressures (0–30 GPa). The phonon dispersion curves and corresponding density of states (DOS) of TmX (X=As, P) were also obtained, and the salient results were interpreted.     

Phonon dispersion and thermodynamical properties in ZrB2, NbB2, and MoB2

The structural and lattice dynamical calculations are performed on ZrB₂, NbB₂, and MoB₂ compounds using the first-principles of total energy calculations. Generalized gradient approximations (GGA) are used to model exchange-correlation effects. Structural results of these calculations are consistent with past experimental data and other theoretical findings. Our lattice dynamical results regarding phonon dispersion curves and temperature-dependent behavior of thermodynamical properties (entropy, heat capacity, internal energy, and free energy) contribute to the existing literature on these compounds.     

Electronic and optical properties of defect chalcopyrite HgAl2Se4

The structural, electronic and optical properties of HgAl₂Se₄ are investigated using the full potential linear augmented plane wave method based on density functional theory. The calculated structural parameters using LDA are in excellent agreement with the available experimental result. The obtained energy band gap (2.24 eV) using EV-GGA approximation is in excellent agreement with experimental data (2.20 eV). Variation in the energy band gap as a function of the unit cell lattice parameter has been studied. The optical properties show a considerable anisotropy, which makes this compound very useful for various linear–nonlinear optical devices.     

Electronic structure and structural phase stability of CuAlX2 (X=S, Se, Te) under pressure

The electronic and structural properties of chalcopyrite compounds CuAlX₂ (X=S, Se, Te) have been studied using the first principle self-consistent Tight Binding Linear Muffin-Tin Orbital (TBLMTO) method within the local density approximation. The present study deals with the ground state properties, structural phase transition, equations of state and pressure dependence of band gap of CuAlX₂ (S, Se, Te) compounds.Electronic structure and hence total energies of these compounds have been computed as a function of reduced volume. The calculated lattice parameters are in good agreement with the available experimental results. At high pressures, structural phase transition from bct structure (chalcopyrite) to cubic structure (rock salt) is observed. The pressure induced structural phase transitions for CuAlS₂, CuAlSe₂, and CuAlTe₂ are observed at 18.01, 14.4 and 8.29 GPa, respectively. Band structures at normal as well as for high-pressure phases have been calculated. The energy band gaps for the above compounds have been calculated as a function of pressure, which indicates the metallic character of these compounds at high-pressure fcc phase. There is a large downshift in band gaps due to hybridatization of the noble-metal d levels with p levels of the other atoms.     

Spin-polarized structural, electronic and magnetic properties of intermetallic Dy2Ni2Pb from computational study

We report a first-principles study of structural, electronic and magnetic properties of ternary plumbides (rare earth-transition metal-Plumb) Dy₂Ni₂Pb crystallizes with the orthorhombic structure of the Mn₂AlB₂ type (space group Cmmm), were studied by means of the full-relativistic version of the full-potential augmented plane wave plus local orbital method within the frame work of spin-polarized density functional theory (SP-DFT). The electronic exchange-correlation energy is described by generalized gradient approximation (GGA). We have calculated the lattice parameters, bulk modulii and the first pressure derivatives of the bulk modulii, total densities of states and magnetic properties. The calculated total magnetic moment is found to be equal to 9.52 μB.     

Conformational equilibria in dihaloheptasilanes X2Si[SiMe(SiMe3)2]2 with X = F,Cl, Br,I: A Raman spectroscopic and quantum chemical DFT study

Equilibrium geometries, stabilities and vibrational wavenumbers for conformers of the dihaloheptasilanes X₂Si[SiMe(SiMe₃)₂]₂ with X = F, Cl, Br and I were calculated at the density functional B3LYP level employing 6‐311G(d) basis sets and SDD pseudopotentials for Br and I. Two spectroscopically distinct low‐energy conformers were located for all four heptasilanes with energy differences of 5.5, 4.7, 1.9 and 1.2 kJ mol⁻¹ for X = F, Cl, Br and I, respectively. Five more conformers were found for difluoroheptasilane and four for X = Cl, Br and I. They all have relative energies larger than 7.5 and up to 17 kJ mol⁻¹ and are negligibly populated at room temperature. Variable temperature solution Raman spectra (−70 to + 100 °C) in a wavenumber range typical for Si Si stretching vibrations (280‐350 cm⁻¹) confirm these results. For X = Br and I, no temperature effects at all could be observed as a very rapid inter‐conversion between the two low‐energy conformers, which is fast even on the time scale of Raman spectroscopy, occurs. For X = Cl, rapid inter‐conversion also occurs, and a third conformer could be detected at higher temperatures (50–100 °C). For X = F, intensity changes with temperature are consistent with the presence of two low‐energy conformers. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A first-principle study of the structural, elastic, lattice dynamical and thermodynamic properties of PrX (X=P, As)

The structural, phase transition, elastic, lattice dynamic and thermodynamic properties of rare-earth compounds PrP and PrAs with NaCl (B1), CsCl (B2), ZB (B3), WC (B_h) and CuAu (L1₀) structures are investigated using the first principles calculations within the generalized gradient approximation (GGA). For the total-energy calculation, we have used the projected augmented plane-wave (PAW) implementation of the Vienna Ab-initio Simulation Package (VASP). Specifically, some basic physical parameters, e.g. lattice constants, bulk modulus, elastic constants, shear modulus, Young's modulus and Poison's ratio, are predicted. The obtained equilibrium structure parameters are in excellent agreement with the experimental and theoretical data. The temperature and pressure variations of the volume, bulk modulus, thermal expansion coefficient, heat capacity and Debye temperature are calculated in wide pressure and temperature ranges. The phonon dispersion curves and corresponding one-phonon density of states (DOS) for both compounds are also computed in the NaCl (B1) structure.     

Structures,vibrational spectra,and relative energetics of FC(O)ONO and FC(O)NO2 isomers at DFT and ab initio levels

The structural and vibrational parameters of FC(O)ONO and FC(O)NO₂ isomers were examined theoretically using the B3LYP/6-311+G(3df) and CCSD(T)/6-311G(d) methods. Four conformers of FC(O)ONO isomer and one FC(O)NO₂ isomer are found here. Among them, the trans–cis and cis–cis FC(O)ONO configuration are new conformers. The energetics were refined with G3//B3LYP and CBS-QB3 calculations. The trans–trans conformer of the FC(O)ONO isomer is found to be the lowest energy structure, with an estimated heat of formation of ?104.9 kcal mol^?1 at 0 K as determined from CBS-QB3 theory. The next lowest structure is the cis–trans FC(O)ONO lying 1.7 kcal mol^?1 above the trans–trans structural form. The highest energy structure is the FC(O)NO₂ isomer with a predicted heat of formation of ?84.8 kcal mol^?1. A comparison of the relative stability of the FCNO₃ isomers with the isomers of ClCNO₃ shows that the Cl analogues follow the same pattern of stability, as do the F isomers. However, the chlorine isomers are unstable relative to their fluorine analogues.     

Computer simulations and analysis of structural and energetic features of crystalline cage energetic compound: 2, 4, 6, 8, 12‐pentanitro‐10‐(3, 5, 6‐trinitro (2‐pyridyl))‐2, 4, 6, 8, 12‐hexaazatetracyclo [5.5.0.03,11.05,9]dodecane

First principles molecular orbital and plane‐wave ab initio calculations have been used to investigate the structural and energetic properties of a new cage compound 2, 4, 6, 8, 12‐pentanitro‐10‐(3, 5, 6‐trinitro (2‐pyridyl))‐2, 4, 6, 8, 12‐hexaazatetracyclo [5.5.0.0^3,11.0^5,9]dodecane (PNTNPHATCD) in both the gas and solid phases. The molecular orbital calculations using the density functional theory methods at the B3LYP/6‐31G(d,p) level indicate that both the heat of formation and strain energy of PNTNPHATCD are larger than those of 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12‐hexanitro‐2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12‐hexaazatetracyclo [5.5.0.0.0] dodecane (CL‐20). The infrared spectra and the thermodynamic property in gas phase were predicted and discussed. The calculated detonation characteristics of PNTNPHATCD estimated using the Kamlet–Jacobs equation equally matched with those of CL‐20. Bond‐breaking results on the basis of natural bond orbital analysis imply that C–C bond in cage skeleton, C–N bond in pyridine, and N–NO₂ bond in the side chain of cage may be the trigger bonds in the pyrolysis. The structural properties of PNTNPHATCD crystal have been studied by a plane‐wave density functional theory method in the framework of the generalized gradient approximation. The crystal packing predicted using the Condensed‐phase Optimized Molecular Potentials for Atomistic Simulation Studies (COMPASS) force fields belongs to the Pbca space group, with the lattice parameters a = 20.87 Å, b = 24.95 Å, c = 7.48 Å, and Z = 8, respectively. The results of the band gap and density of state suggest that the N–NO₂ bond in PNTNPHATCD may be the initial breaking bond in the pyrolysis step. As the temperature increases, the heat capacity, enthalpy, and entropy of PNTNPHATCD crystal all increase, whereas the free energy decreases. Considering that the cage compound has the better detonation performances and stability, it may be a superior high energy density compound. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ab-initio study of structural and electronic properties of AlAs

The structural properties, i.e. equilibrium lattice constant, transition pressure, bulk modulus and its pressure derivatives, together with electronic properties, i.e. energy bands, Compton profile and autocorrelation function, of AlAs are presented in this work. The linear combination of atomic orbitals (LCAO) method of the CRYSTAL code was applied considering the Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof correlation energy functional and Becke's ansatz for the exchange. The total energy of AlAs as a function of primitive cell volume has also been calculated for the zincblende (B3), nickel arsenide (B8), sodium chloride (B1) and cesium chloride (B2) phases. Structural parameters of the B3, B8, B1 and B2 phases are determined. The calculated structural parameters are found to be in good agreement with the results of previous investigations. The spherically averaged theoretical values of Compton profile are in good agreement with an earlier measurement. The LCAO calculation shows an indirect band gap of 1.85?eV, in reasonable agreement with earlier data. On the basis of the equal-valence-electron-density Compton profile, it is found that AlAs is more ionic compared to AlSb.     

Temperature dependent structural,electrical and electronic investigation of VO2 (B) thin film

Vanadium dioxide can exist in several polymorphs and among these the layered polymorph VO₂ (B) with monoclinic symmetry has numerous applications. In this work, VO₂ (B) phase thin film was prepared on quartz substrate via sputtering technique and its temperature dependent structural, electrical and electronic properties were investigated. We have witnessed a broader structural phase transition around 220 K; which encounter significant changes in the lattice constants yet the monoclinic symmetry is retained over a temperature range from 100 K to 380 K. Temperature dependent resistance measurement also exhibited a semi-metal to insulator like transition near 220 K displaying over 2 order of magnitude change in resistance across the transition. Small changes in the oxygen K-edge x-ray absorption spectrum were seen with change in temperature. At low temperature, an additional peak (d_|| band) has emerged in the XAS spectra at energy higher than the σ* peak. The appearance of d_|| band density of states is associated to the enhanced electron correlation effects driven by the localization of V–V pair's interactions at low temperature.     

X‐ray‐excited optical luminescence and X‐ray absorption fine‐structures studies of CdWO4 scintillator

X‐ray‐excited optical luminescence (XEOL) emission and excitation spectra as well as the EXAFS signal of CdWO₄ were measured in the energy region of the Cd and W absorption edges. From EXAFS refinement, structural parameters such as number of atoms, distance from the absorbing atom and width of coordination shells in the W neighborhood were determined. The role of W–O interactions on the intrinsic luminescence of CdWO₄ is discussed. The efficiencies of conversion, transfer and emission processes involved in the scintillation mechanism showed to be high when self‐trapped excitons are formed locally by direct excitation of W ions. Annihilation of these excitons provides the characteristic scintillation of CdWO₄, a broad band emission with maximum at 500 nm. The presence of two energetically different O positions in the lattice gives rise to the composite structure of the luminescence band, and no influence of extrinsic defects was noticed. A mismatch between the X‐ray absorption coefficient and the zero‐order luminescence curves corroborates that the direct excitation of Cd ions induces secondary electronic excitations not very effective in transferring energy to the luminescent group, WO₆.     

An ab initio study of the structural,elastic, electronic and optical properties of the newly synthesized nitridoaluminate LiCaAlN2

The structural parameters, elastic constants, electronic structure and optical properties of the recently reported monoclinic quaternary nitridoaluminate LiCaAlN₂ are investigated in detail using the ab initio plane-wave pseudopotential method within the generalized gradient approximation. The calculated equilibrium structural parameters are in excellent agreement with the experimental data, which validate the reliability of the applied theoretical method. The chemical and structural stabilities of LiCaAlN₂ are confirmed by calculating the cohesion energy and enthalpy of formation. Chemical band stiffness is calculated to explain the pressure dependence of the lattice parameters. Through the band structure calculation, LiCaAlN₂ is predicted to be an indirect band gap of 2.725 eV. The charge-carrier effective masses are estimated from the band structure dispersions. The frequency-dependent dielectric function, absorption coefficient, refractive index, extinction coefficient, reflectivity coefficient and electron energy loss function spectra are calculated for polarized incident light in a wide energy range. Optical spectra exhibit a noticeable anisotropy. Single-crystal and polycrystalline elastic constants and related properties, including isotropic sound velocities and Debye temperatures, are numerically estimated. The calculated elastic constants and elastic compliances are used to analyse and visualize the elastic anisotropy of LiCaAlN₂. The calculated elastic constants demonstrate the mechanical stability and brittle behaviour of the considered material.     

Prediction study of the structural and elastic properties for the cubic skutterudites LaFe4A12 (A = P,As and Sb) under pressure effect

We have performed accurate ab initio total energy calculations using the full-potential linear augmented plane wave plus local orbitals method with the local density approximation for the exchange–correlation potential to investigate the systematic trends for structural and elastic properties of the cubic LaFe₄A₁₂ skutterudites’ family depending on the type of A pnicogen atom (A stands for P, As and Sb). The calculated equilibrium lattice constants and internal free parameters are in good agreement with the experimental results. For the first time, the numerical estimates of the independent elastic constants and their pressure dependence are performed using the total energy variation as function of strain technique. Isotropic elastic parameters and related properties, namely bulk modulus, shear modulus, Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio, Lamé’s coefficients, average sound velocity and Debye temperature, are estimated in the framework of the Voigt–Reuss–Hill approximation for ideal polycrystalline LaFe₄A₁₂ aggregates.     

First-principles calculations of structural stability,elastic, dynamical and thermodynamic properties of SiGe,SiSn, GeSn

A first-principles calculations, based on the norm-conserving pseudopotentials and the density functional theory (DFT) and the density functional perturbation theory (DFPT) as implemented in the ABINIT code, have been performed to investigate the structural stability, elastic, lattice dynamic and thermodynamic properties of the ordered SiGe, SiSn and GeSn cubic alloy in zinc-blende (B3) structure. The calculated lattice parameters and bulk modulus agree with the previous results. The second-order elastic constants have been calculated and other related quantities such as the Young’s modulus, shear modulus, anisotropy factor are also estimated. We also obtain the data of lattice dynamics and the temperature dependent properties currently lacking for SiGe, SiSn and GeSn. Findings are also presented for the temperature-dependent behaviors of some thermodynamic properties such as the internal energy, Helmholtz free energy, entropy and heat capacity.     

YPd3X（X=B,C）晶体结构、弹性性质与电子结构的第一性原理研究

在广义梯度近似（GGA）和GGA+U（在位库仑势）下,采用第一性原理方法系统地研究了三元过渡金属硼碳化合物YPd3X(X＝B,C)的晶体结构、弹性性质、电子结构和成键特性．计算的晶格参数和体弹性模量均与报道的实验结果吻合,而YPd3X(X＝B,C) 的弹性参数计算值则表明YPd3C的硬度大于YPd3B．根据晶体机械稳定标准得到YPd3B和YPd3C的失稳临界压强分别约为16.5GPa和23GPa．由Pugh经验关系可知YPd3X(X=B,C)均属于韧性材料,且YPd3B的韧性略高于YPd3C．电子能带结构分析表明YPd3B和YPd3C均具有金属特性,且导电能力相当．由态密度和电荷密度分析得知,X与Pd之间形成较强的共价键,而Y与Pd3X之间形成离子键,化学键键能的不同是两种材料的弹性参数存在差异的内在原因．上述的研究结果为YPd3X(X=B,C)的力电材料的设计和应用提供了一定的理论依据．