First principles study of structural phase transition of YSb and ScSb compounds

High pressure induced phase transition of YSb and ScSb compounds have been studied using Density Functional Theory method within Generalized Gradient Approximation. It was found that the phase transition from the NaCl-type (B1) to a CsCl-type structure (B2) began to occur at around 29 GPa for YSb compound, agreeing well with available experiments and theoretical calculations. For ScSb compound it was suggested that structural phase transition from B1 to B2 will occur at about 40 GPa, differing greatly with experimental and theoretical results. The finding that the transition pressures increase with decreasing lattice constant in the NaCl-type structure for YSb and ScSb compounds was found to be similar to the phenomena observed for LnSb (Ln: lanthanide) compounds. Mulliken charge and overlap population analysis revealed that YSb and ScSb compounds in B1 structure show similar interaction between anion and cation, while in B2 structure a higher degree of covalency was found for ScSb than that in YSb. Also, DOS and band structure of these two compounds in B1 and B2 structures were presented and analyzed.     

Structural phase transition of ScSb and YSb with a NaCl-type structure at high pressures

By use of synchrotron radiation, powder X-ray diffraction of ScSb and YSb with a NaCl-type structure has been studied up to 45 GPa at room temperature. A first-order phase transition from the NaCl-type (B1) to a CsCl-type structure (B2) began to occur at around 28 GPa for ScSb and at around 26 GPa for YSb. Crystal data of the high-pressure phase of both antimonides are obtained. The high-pressure structural behavior of ScSb and YSb is similar to that of heavier LnSb (Ln=Dy-Lu). The B1-B2 transition for ScSb and YSb can be understood according to the rigid sphere model. The bulk moduli of ScSb and YSb are about 58 GPa at ambient pressure.     

Phase transition,lattice dynamical and thermodynamic properties of yttrium antimonide with the rock salt structure under high pressure: first-principles investigations

We investigate the structural, electronic, first-order pressure-induced phase transition, lattice dynamical, and thermodynamic properties of yttrium antimonide (YSb) with the rock salt structure at high pressures and high temperatures using the projector-augmented wave method based on the density-functional theory. By the usual condition of equal enthalpy, we find that the rock salt-structured YSb is stable up to 31.10 GPa, and then transforms to the CsCl-type structure, this is consistent with the experiment result which begins transform from 26 GPa then ends at 36 GPa. The phonon dispersion curves of the rock salt-structured YSb are calculated under high pressure for the first time using a linear-response approach to density-functional perturbation theory successfully. Within the calculated phonon density of state and the quasi-harmonic approximation, we predict further the thermal physical properties of YSb under high temperature and high pressure systematically.     

Phase transition of ZnS at high pressures and temperatures

The high-pressure behaviour of zinc sulphide, ZnS, has been investigated, using an in situ X-ray powder diffraction technique in a diamond anvil cell, at pressures and temperatures up to 35 GPa and 1000 K, respectively. The pressure-induced phase transition from a zincblende (B3) to a rocksalt (B1) structure was observed. This transition occurred at 13.4 GPa and at room temperature, and a negative dependence on temperature for this transition was confirmed. The transition boundary was determined to be P (GPa) = 14.4 ? 0.0033 × T (K).     

Elastic and thermodynamic properties in CdO at high pressures from first-principles calculations

In this study, we report first-principles calculations of the elastic and thermodynamic properties for CdO in both the B1 (rocksalt) phase and B2 (cesium chloride) phase. The calculations are performed within the framework of density functional theory, using the pseudopotential plane-wave method. From the theoretical results, we find that the high pressure structural phase transition of CdO from B1 structure to B2 structure is 90.31 GPa. The calculated values are, generally speaking, in good agreement with experiments and with similar theoretical calculations. According to the quasi-harmonic Debye model, we investigate the sound velocity and Debye temperature of CdO under pressures in the range of 0<P<150 GPa.     

高压下CaPo弹性性质和热力学性质的第一性原理研究

利用密度泛函理论的平面波赝势方法预测研究了CaPo从岩盐结构(B1结构)到氯化铯结构(B2结构)的相变以及B1结构CaPo高压下的弹性性质以及热力学性质等.通过等焓原理发现B1→B2的相变压力为22.8GPa. 同时计算了B1结构CaPo高压下的弹性常数以及剪切模量、杨氏模量等相关弹性参数,结果发现当压力超过20GPa时,B1结构CaPo开始不稳定了,这和等焓原理所得结果相符合. 最后通过Debye模型成功获取了B1结构C 关键词： 相变 弹性性质 热力学性质 CaPo     

Phase transition and thermodynamic properties of TiO2 from first-principles calculations

The pressure induced phase transitions of TiO2 from anatase to columbite structure and from rutile to columbite structure and the temperature induced phase transition from anatase to rutile structure and from columbite to rutile structure are investigated by ab initio plane-wave pseudopotential density functional theory method(DFT),together with quasi-harmonic Debye model.It is found that the zero-temperature transition pressures from anatase to columbite and from rutile to columbite are 4.55 GPa and 19.92 GPa,respectively.The zero-pressure transition temperatures from anatase to rutile and from columbite to rutile are 950 K and 1500 K,respectively.Our results are consistent with the available experimental data and other theoretical results.Moreover,the dependence of the normalized primitive cell volume V/V0 on pressure and the dependences of thermal expansion coefficient α on temperature and pressure are also obtained successfully.     

Structural instability of PbSe/SnSe superlattices under pressure

Abstract

PbSe/SnSe superlattice, phase transition, high pressure, SR x-ray diffraction)

Synchrotron x-ray diffraction experiments have revealed successive phase transitions in epitaxially-grown PbSe/SnSe superlattices. The transition pressures from the low-pressre cubic B1- to the high-pressure orthorhombic B16-type structures are observed to vary systematically depending upon thickness of the PbSe layer. For example, a [PbSe(36A)/SnSe(12A)]₁₉, with the B1 structure in both layers stabilized in its asgrown state, undergoes the [B1/B1]-to-[B1/B16] and [B1/B16]-to-[B16/B16] structural transitions at 1.9 and 3.8GPa, respectively. This result is in contrast to their bulk data that the B1-to-B16 transition takes place at 5.3GPa in PbSe while the B16 phase is stable in SnSe at atmospheric pressure.     

An experimental exploration of chemical bond characteristic,bulk modulus and phase stability in ZnO:Cu nanocrystals under high pressure

The high pressure induced phase transitions in Zn_1−x Cu _x O (x=0.005 and 0.011) are investigated by angle-dispersive synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction. As the pressure increases, phase transformations from the wurtzite structure to the rocksalt structure are observed in both samples, with the transition pressures at 9.8 GPa and 7.9 GPa, respectively. With the increasing of the Cu-doping concentration in ZnO, crystalline parameters, the bulk moduli, and the Zn–O bond lengths all increased, meanwhile, the transition pressures decreased. The results could be explained in terms of the reduction of phase transformation barriers and the lowering of bond energy.     

Elastic properties of alkaline earth oxides under high pressure

In this article, we have investigated the high-pressure structural phase transition of alkaline earth oxides using the three-body potential (TBP) model. Phase transition pressures are associated with elastic constants. An effective inter-ionic interaction potential (TBP) with long-range Coulomb interactions and the Hafemeister–Flygare type short-range overlap repulsion and the vdWl interaction is developed. The present calculations have revealed reasonably good agreement with the available experimental data on structural transition (B1–B2 structure). The phase transition pressures Pt of MgO, CaO, SrO, and BaO occur at 220, 45, 40, and 100?GPa, respectively. Further, the variations of the second-order elastic constants with pressure have followed a systematic trend, which are almost identical to those exhibited by the observed data measured for other semiconducting compounds with rocksalt (B1)-type crystal structure. It is found that TBP promises that we would be able to predict phase transition pressure and elastic constants for other chalcogenides as well. The results may be useful for geophysical study.     

Theoretical study of ground state and high-pressure phase of platinum carbide

We report local density-functional calculations using the full-potential linearized muffin-tin orbital method (FP-LMTO) for platinum carbide (PtC) in the, rock-salt (B1), zinc-blende (B3), wurtzite (B4), nickel-arsenide (B8) and PbO (B10) structures. The ground state properties such as the equilibrium lattice constant, elastic constants, the bulk modulus and its pressure derivative of PtC in these phases are determined and compared with available experimental and theoretical data.Our calculations show that the ground state phase of PtC to be zinc-blende (B3) structure at zero pressure and the nickel-arsenide (B8) structure is a high-pressure phase. The transition pressures at which this compound undergoes the structural phase transition from (B3) to (B8) and from (B3) to (B1) are found to be 34.25 and 51.28 GPa, respectively. The highest bulk modulus values in the nickel-arsenide (B8), zinc-blende (B3), rock-salt (B1) and PbO (B10) structures indicate that PtC is a hard material.     

Phase transitions of YbX (X = P,As and Sb) with a NaCl-type structure at high pressures

The powder X-ray diffraction of YbX (X?=?P, As and Sb) with a NaCl-type structure has been studied with synchrotron radiation up to 63?GPa at room temperature. YbSb undergoes the first-order structural phase transition from the NaCl-type (B1) to the CsCl-type (B2) structure at around 13?GPa. The structural change to the B2 structure occurs with the volume collapse of about 1% at 13?GPa. The transition pressure of YbSb is surprisingly lower than that of any other heavier LnSb (Ln?=?Dy, Ho, Er, Tm and Lu). The pressure-induced phase transitions in YbP and YbAs are observed at around 51?GPa and 52?GPa respectively. The transition pressure of both compounds is much higher than that of YbSb. The high-pressure structural behaviour of YbX (X?=?P, As and Sb) is discussed. The volume versus pressure curve for YbX with the NaCl-type structure is fitted by a Birch equation of state. The bulk moduli of these compounds with the NaCl-type structure are 104?GPa for YbP, 85?GPa for YbAs and 52?GPa for YbSb.     

Investigation of half-metallic and magnetic phase transition in Co2TiZ (Z = Al,Ga, In) Heusler alloys

ABSTRACT

The half-metallic and ferromagnetic properties of Co₂TiZ (Z?=?Al, Ga, In) Heusler alloys are investigated. The structural stability is analyzed among the two possible structures, namely, L2₁ (Cu₂MnAl phase) and XA (Hg₂CuTi phase) structures. It is found that these alloys are stable in L2₁ (Cu₂MnAl phase) structure. The electronic structure of Co₂TiZ reveals that these alloys exhibit half-metallic ferromagnetism with small spin-flip gap at the minority spin state. As the pressure is increased, ferromagnetic to non-magnetic phase transition is observed at the pressures of 380.9, 363.0 and 317.8?GPa for Co₂TiAl, Co₂TiGa and Co₂TiIn, respectively. Half-metallic to metallic phase transition occurs in Co₂TiAl, Co₂TiGa and Co₂TiIn at the pressures of 76.5?GPa, 73.1?GPa and 63.9?GPa respectively.     

Pressure-induced structural phase transition in transition metal carbides TMC (TM = Ru,Rh, Pd,Os, Ir,Pt): a DFT study

First-principles calculations based on density functional theory was performed to analyse the structural stability of transition metal carbides TMC (TM = Ru, Rh, Pd, Os, Ir, Pt). It is observed that zinc-blende phase is the most stable one for these carbides. Pressure-induced structural phase transition from zinc blende to NiAs phase is predicted at the pressures of 248.5 GPa, 127 GPa and 142 GPa for OsC, IrC and PtC, respectively. The electronic structure reveals that RuC exhibits a semiconducting behaviour with an energy gap of 0.7056 eV. The high bulk modulus values of these carbides indicate that these metal carbides are super hard materials. The high B/G value predicts that the carbides are ductile in their most stable phase.     

高压下TiN的结构转变、弹性和热力学性质的第一性原理计算

 利用基于密度泛函的第一性原理,计算了高压下TiN的结构转变、弹性和热力学性质。计算结果表明：在压力作用下,TiN经历了从NaCl型结构到CsCl型结构的转变,转变压力为348 GPa;TiN的弹性系数随着压力的增加呈线性增加规律。此外,还给出了德拜温度和热容量这两个重要热力学量与温度和（或）压力的依赖关系。     

TiN多型体高压相变的第一性原理计算

基于密度泛函理论框架下的赝势平面波方法,计算了B1(氯化钠结构)、B2(氯化铯结构)、B3(闪锌矿结构)、B_k(六方氮化硼结构)、B_h(碳化钨结构)和B8₁(砷化镍结构)6种TiN多型体的晶体结构、体积弹性模量和相对稳定性.计算指出,不存在B4(纤锌矿)结构的TiN.通过不同外压下的晶格弛豫得到每种结构的焓,发现外压 关键词： 氮化钛 赝势 高压相变 密度泛函理论     

Structural phase stability and elastic behavior of III-V scandium pnictides

A modified interaction potential (MIPM) model (including the covalency effect) has been developed and applied for the first time to investigate the high-pressure structural phase transition of scandium pnictides (ScAs and ScSb). Phase transition pressures are associated with a sudden collapse in volume indicating the occurrence of first order phase transition. The phase transition pressures and associated volume collapses obtained from present potential model show a generally better agreement with available experimental data than others. The elastic constants and their pressure derivatives are also reported. Moreover, the thermo physical properties have also been obtained successfully. Our results are in good agreement with available experimental and theoretical data.     

Phase transitions of lanthanide monophosphides with NaCl-type structure at high pressures

Lanthanide monophosphides LnP (Ln = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, Tm and Yb) with a NaCl-type structure have systematically been prepared at high temperatures. Using synchrotron radiation, X-ray diffractions of LnP have been studied up to 61 GPa at room temperature. The NaCl---CsCl transition for CeP is found at around 25 GPa. First-order phase transitions of LnP (Ln = La, Pr and Nd) with the crystallographic change occur at around 24, 26 and 30 GPa, respectively. The structure of the high pressure phases of these phosphides is a body center tetragonal structure (Ln: 0, 0, 0; P: 1/2, 1/2, 1/2; space group P4/mmm), which can be seen as the distorted CsCl-type structure. The Pr---P distance in the high pressure form of PrP is 2.789 Å. This almost agrees with the sum of covalent radii of Pr and P. The Pr---P bond has the covalent character at very high pressures. Similar results are also obtained for LaP and NdP. The pressure-induced phase transitions of SmP, GdP, TbP, TmP and YbP occur at around 35, 40, 38, 53 and 51 GPa, respectively. The structure of the high pressure phase is unknown. The phase transitions of LnP with many f-electrons are not due to the mechanism of the ordinary NaCl---CsCl transition. The transition pressures of LnP increase with decreasing the lattice constants in the NaCl-type structure, which decrease with increasing atomic number of the lanthanide atoms.     

Structural and magnetic phase transitions in Pr<Subscript>0.7</Subscript>Ca<Subscript>0.3</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> at high pressures

The crystal structure and Raman spectra of Pr_0.7Ca_0.3MnO₃ manganite at high pressures of up to 30 GPa and the magnetic structure at pressures of up to 1 GPa have been studied. A structural phase transition from the orthorhombic phase of the Pnma symmetry to the high-pressure orthorhombic phase of the Imma symmetry has been observed at P ∼ 15 GPa and room temperature. Anomalies of the pressure dependences of the bending and stretching vibrational modes have been observed in the region of the phase transition. A magnetic phase transition from the initial ferromagnetic ground state (T _C = 120 K) to the A-type antiferromagnetic state (T _N = 140 K) takes place at a relatively low pressure of P = 1 GPa in the low-temperature region. The structural mechanisms of the change of the character of the magnetic ordering have been discussed.