First‐principles study of the (001) surface of cubic PbTiO3

We present first‐principles calculations on the (001) surfaces of cubic PbTiO₃ with PbO and TiO₂ terminations. The cleavage energy, surface energy, surface grand potential, surface relaxation and surface electronic structure have been investigated by using the projector‐augmented wave method under generalized gradient approximation (GGA). The results show that surface energy of a TiO₂‐terminated surface is a little lower than that of a PbO‐terminated one, thus allowing both terminations to coexist. The PbO‐termination is stable in O‐ and Pb‐rich environments, while on the contrary, the TiO₂‐termination is stable in O‐ and Pb‐poor conditions. In addition, the surface rumpling S of a PbO‐terminated surface is slightly larger than that of a TiO₂‐terminated one. The relaxations dominantly take place on the outermost three layers, and an oscillatory (? + ?) damping (|Δd₁₂ | > | Δd₂₃ | > | Δd₃₄|) relaxation phenomenon appears for both terminations. The band gaps of both PbO‐ and TiO₂‐terminations are slightly lower than that of the bulk. Moreover, the DOS curves of each layer show that for the TiO₂‐termination, the top of the valence band of the first and third TiO₂ layers moves toward Fermi level. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The structural,electronic, and magnetic properties of the stoichiometric (001) surface of double perovskite Sr2FeMoO6

The structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of the stoichiometric (001) surface of double perovskite Sr₂FeMoO₆ have been studied by using a 10‐layer FeMoO₄ and SrO terminated (001)‐oriented slab model and the first‐principles projector augmented wave potential within the generalized gradient approximation as well as taking into account the on‐site Coulomb repulsive (U = 2.0 eV for Fe and 1.0 eV for Mo). An outwards relaxation is observed for several layers near surface, and the accompanying layer rumpling has a decrease tend from surface layer to inner layer. Along Fe–O–Mo–O–Fe or Mo–O–Fe–O–Mo chains, the oxygen atom is closer to the adjacent Mo atom than to the adjacent Fe atom. In FeO₆ or MoO₆ octahedra, the two axial TM?O bonds are not equal, and especially, the surface dangling bond makes the remaining one axial TM?O bond slightly shorter than four equally equatorial TM?O bonds. The half‐metallic nature and a complete (100%) spin polarization character ensure the FeMoO₄ and SrO terminated (001)‐oriented slab of double perovskite Sr₂FeMoO₆ a potential application in spintronics devices. The Fe⁺³ and Mo⁺⁵ ions are still in the (3d⁵, S = 5/2) and (4d¹, S = 1/2) states with positive and negative magnetic moments respectively and thus antiferromagnetic coupling via oxygen between them. There is no direct interaction between two nearest Fe–Fe or Mo–Mo pairs, whereas the hybridizations between Fe 3d and 4s, O 2s and 2p, as well as Mo 4d, 5s and 5p orbitals are fairly significant. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Lu掺杂AlN的电子结构和光学性质的第一性原理研究

为了探索 AlN在光电器件中的潜在应用,采用第一性原理计算了不同 Lu掺杂浓度(以原子分数 x表示)的 AlN(Al_1-xLu_xN)的电子结构和光学性质。研究结果表明,Al_1-xLu_xN的超胞体积随着Lu掺杂浓度的增加而增加,而带隙则相反。Al_1-xLu_xN的静态介电常数在低能区随掺杂浓度的提高而提高,随后逐渐趋向一致。随着Lu掺杂浓度的增加,反射率和吸收系数的峰值强度降低,峰值向较低能量方向移动。Al_1-xLu_xN的能量损失光谱表现出明显的等离子体振荡特性,且峰值低于本征AlN。Al_1-xLu_xN的光电导率在低能区随能量的增加而急剧增加。     

Lu掺杂AlN的电子结构和光学性质的第一性原理研究

为了探索AlN在光电器件中的潜在应用,采用第一性原理计算了不同Lu掺杂浓度(以原子分数x表示)的AlN(Al_1-xLu_xN)的电子结构和光学性质。研究结果表明,Al_1-xLu_xN的超胞体积随着Lu掺杂浓度的增加而增加,而带隙则相反。Al_1-xLu_xN的静态介电常数在低能区随掺杂浓度的提高而提高,随后逐渐趋向一致。随着Lu掺杂浓度的增加,反射率和吸收系数的峰值强度降低,峰值向较低能量方向移动。Al_1-xLu_xN的能量损失光谱表现出明显的等离子体振荡特性,且峰值低于本征AlN。Al_1-xLu_xN的光电导率在低能区随能量的增加而急剧增加。     

First-principles investigation of structural,electronic, and optical properties of transition metal-doped C40 CrSi2

Although CrSi₂ silicide is an attractive advanced functional material, the improvement of electronic and optical properties is still a challenge for its applications. Here, we apply the first-principles calculations to investigate the influence of transition metals (TMs) on the electronic and optical properties of C40 CrSi₂ silicide. Five possible TMs, Ti, V, Pd, Ag, and Pt, are considered in detail. The calculated results show that the additive metals Ti, V, Pd, and Pt are thermodynamically stable in C40 CrSi₂ because the calculated impurity formation energy of TM-doped C40 CrSi₂ is lower than zero. In particular, the V dopant is more thermodynamically stable than that of the other TMs. The calculated electronic structure shows that the band gap of C40 CrSi₂ is 0.391 eV, which is in good agreement with the other results. In particular, the additive TMs improve the electronic properties of C40 CrSi₂ due to the role of the d-state of TMs. Naturally, the additive TMs result in band migration (Cr-3d state and Si-3p state) from the valence band to the conduction band. Interestingly, the additive TMs lead to a red shift for optical adsorption of C40 CrSi₂ silicide.     

Se和SeO2在O2/CaO (001)表面吸附反应的第一性原理研究

基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理和平板模型构造了最稳定的O₂/CaO（001）表面,通过优化Se和SeO₂在此表面可能的初始吸附结构得到最佳吸附构型,分析了Se原子在O₂/CaO（001）表面向SeO₂的转化。结果表明,Se原子在O₂/CaO（001）表面的稳定吸附构型主要有两种,即O-Se-O和O-O-Se基团,其中,O-O-Se基团的Se终端具有一定化学活性;Se在O₂/CaO（001）表面向SeO₂转化所需反应能垒小于均相条件下生成SeO₂所需反应能垒,表明CaO不仅作为吸附剂,也能促进Se向SeO₂的转化;SeO₂分子在O₂/CaO（001）表面发生化学吸附时,吸附基底的部分价电子转移至SeO₂分子轨道中。     

(Co,P)双掺杂MgF2电子结构和光学性质的第一性原理研究

基于密度泛函理论(DFT)的第一性原理平面波超软赝势方法,计算了纯MgF2晶体、Co掺杂MgF2晶体、P掺杂MgF2晶体和(Co,P)双掺杂MgF2晶体的电子结构和光学特性.结果表明,掺杂后的MgF2晶体发生了畸变,原子之间的键长也有所变化.(Co,P)双掺杂后,由于非金属原子p态和金属原子d态之间的轨道杂化,在MgF...     

High-throughput first-principle calculations of the structural,mechanical, and electronic properties of cubic XTiO3 (X = Ca,Sr, Ba,Pb) ceramics under high pressure

High-throughput first-principle calculations are implemented to study the structural, mechanical, and electronic properties of cubic XTiO₃ (X = Ca, Sr, Ba, Pb) ceramics under high pressure. The effects of applied pressure on physical parameters, such as elastic constants, bulk modulus, Young's modulus, shear modulus, ductile-brittle transition, elastic anisotropy, Poisson's ratio, and band gap, are investigated. Results indicate that high pressure improves the resistance to bulk, elastic, and shear deformation for XTiO₃ ceramics. Pugh's ratios B/G reveal that CaTiO₃ and PbTiO₃ ceramics are ductile, but SrTiO₃ and BaTiO₃ ceramics are brittle under the ground state. The brittle-to-ductile transition pressures are 24.26 GPa for SrTiO₃ and 43.23 GPa for BaTiO₃. Under high pressure, the strong anisotropy promotes the cross-slip process of screw dislocations, and then enhances the plasticity of XTiO₃ ceramics. Meanwhile, XTiO₃ (X = Ca, Sr, Ba) is intrinsically an indirect-gap ceramic, but PbTiO₃ is a direct-gap ceramic. High pressure increases the band gap of XTiO₃ (X = Ca, Sr, Ba) ceramic, but decreases that of PbTiO₃ ceramic. This work is helpful for designing and applying XTiO₃ ceramics under high pressure.     

First‐principles calculations of the stability and electronic properties of the PbTiO3 (110) polar surface

The structural and electronic properties of five terminations of cubic lead titanate (PbTiO₃) (110) polar surface were investigated by first‐principles total‐energy calculations using a periodic slab model. On the PbTiO termination, an anomalous filling of conduction band was observed, whereas on the O₂ termination, two surface oxygen atoms formed a peroxo group, demonstrating that the electronic structures of the two stoichiometric terminations undergo significant changes with respect to bulk materials. However, for the three nonstoichiometric TiO‐, Pb‐, and O‐terminated surfaces, their electronic structures are very similar to bulk. Charge redistribution results for the five terminations confirmed that electronic structure and surface composition changes are responsible for their polarity compensation. However, which mechanism actually dominates the stabilization process depends upon energetic considerations. A thermodynamic stability diagram suggested that the two stoichiometric terminations are unstable; however, the three nonstoichiometric terminations can be stabilized in some given regions. Furthermore, this study indicates that the very different stabilities and surface states filling behaviors of the PbTiO₃ (110) polar surface with respect to SrTiO₃ and BaTiO₃ ones seem to originate from the partially covalent characteristics of Pb O pairs. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 2009     

Electronic Properties of BaTiO3 （110） Polar Terminations

The band structures, electron, density differences, and surface energies of five different BaTiO3 （110） ter- minations were investigated by first-principles calculations. According to the calculated results of electron density differences, the bonding characteristics of these considered terminations were discussed. The computational results indicate that the BaTiO-terminated surface is metallic, while the 02-, O-, Ba- and TiO-terminated surfaces are all in- sulative. Furthermore, the computed surface energies suggest that for the considered terminations, the polarity com- pensation achieved through surface reconstruction or surface defect is more effective than by change in surface elec- tronic structure. The defected or reconstructed terminations predominate over cleavage and construction of BaTiO3 crystal along （110） direction.     

First-principles study on the adhesive and electronic property of c-BN(111)/Cu(111) interface

The interface properties of c-BN/Cu composite play an important role in its application. In this work, we employed first-principles calculation to investigate the bonding properties and electronic characteristics of the c-BN(111)/Cu(111) interface. The adhesion properties, partial density of states (PDOS), charge density, and charge density difference of different interfaces were analyzed. The results show that the interface of B-termination “OT” stacking mode is the most stable one. The density of states at the c-BN(111)/Cu(111) interface is similar to that of c-BN bulk phase, indicating that the electronic states of the c-BN layer are not affected by the Cu atoms. The PDOS diagram shows that the 2p orbital of B atoms and the 2p orbital of N atoms are hybridized in the c-BN layer. Besides, 2p orbital of B(N) atoms and 3d orbital of Cu atoms are hybridized in the interface. The covalent bonds and ionic bonds in the interface of N-termination and B-termination OT stacking mode structures are stronger than that of “SL” and “TL” stacking mode. So, the OT stacking mode has larger adhesive energy. Furthermore, Cu and c-BN can form a good coherent interface, which can be used to prepare c-BN/Cu composites and functional materials with excellent mechanical properties.     

Ab initio study of structural and electronic properties of SrTiO3 (001) oxygen-vacancy surfaces

First-principles calculations are employed to study the surface relaxation and electronic structure of the fully relaxed SrTiO(3) (001) oxygen-vacancy surfaces with both Sr and Ti terminations. In contrast to the perfect surface, the larger surface rumples and smaller interlayer distances have been found. Some in-gap Ti 3d states at about -1.13 eV below the Fermi level were observed in the Ti-terminated surface caused by oxygen vacancies. For the Sr-terminated oxygen-vacancy surface, some in-gap Ti 3d states move into the bulk midgap region to become partially occupied. These theoretical results are in agreement with the experimental data.     

First-principles study of the (001) surface of cubic SrHfO(3) and SrTiO(3)

We have performed first-principles calculations on the (001) surface of cubic SrHfO(3) and SrTiO(3) with SrO and BO(2) (B = Ti or Hf) terminations. Surface structure, partial density of states, band structure, and surface energy have been obtained. For the BO(2)-terminated surface, the largest relaxation appears on the second-layer atoms but not on the first-layer ones. The analysis of the structure relaxation parameters reveals that the rumpling of the (001) surface for SrHfO(3) with SrO termination is stronger than that for SrTiO(3). For the HfO(2)-terminated surface of SrHfO(3), the surface state appears near the M point of its band structure.     

Enhancing effect of Sn doping for the optical absorption of BaO/BaTiO3 interphase by first principles calculations

A narrow bandgap and high optical absorption are significantly important for the development of ferroelectric photovoltaic (FE-PV). Nine lateral interface structures, which consist of Sn-doped BaO (BSO) and BaTiO₃ (BTO), are constructed in this work. The bandgap of BSO/BTO decreases to 1.20 eV from 2.46 eV of BTO based on first principles calculations. The electronic structures show that the Sn doping plays a very important role for the bandgap decrease of BaO/BTO. The optical adsorption coefficient of BSO/BTO remarkably increases compared with that of BTO.     

An Ab initio theoretical investigation on the geometrical and electronic structures of BAun−/0 (n = 1–4) clusters

An ab initio theoretical investigation on the geometrical and electronic structures and photoelectron spectroscopies (PES) of BAu_n^?/0 (n = 1–4) auroboranes has been performed in this work. Density functional theory and coupled cluster method (CCSD(T)) calculations indicate that BAu (n = 1–4) clusters with n‐Au terminals possess similar geometrical structures and bonding patterns with the corresponding boron hydrides BH. The PES spectra of BAu (n = 1–4) anions have been simulated computationally to facilitate their future experimental characterizations. In this series, the T_d BAu anion appears to be unique and particularly interesting: it possesses a perfect tetrahedral geometry and has the highest vertical electron detachment energy (VDE = 3.69 eV), largest HOMO‐LUMO gap (ΔE_gap = 3.0 eV), and the highest first excitation energy (E_ex = 2.18 eV). The possibility to use the tetrahedral BAu unit as the building block of Li⁺[BAu₄]^? ion‐pair and other [BAu₄]^?‐containing inorganic solids is discussed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2011     

The effect of silicon doping on the geometrical structures,stability, and electronic and spectral properties of magnesium clusters: DFT study of SiMgn (n = 1-12) clusters

Using the density functional theory (DFT) method at the B3LYP /6−311G (D) level, we studied how silicon doping affects the geometrical structure, stability, and electronic and spectral properties of magnesium clusters. The stable isomers of SiMg _n (n = 1-12) clusters were calculated by searching numerous initial configurations using the CALYPSO program. The geometrical structure optimization shows that most stable SiMg _n (n = 3-12) clusters are three-dimensional. In addition, geometrical structure growth patterns show that some structures of SiMg _n clusters can be directly formed by replacing one Mg atom in the corresponding Mg _{n + 1} cluster with one silicon atom, such as SiMg₈ and Mg₉ clusters. The stability of SiMg _n clusters is analyzed by calculating the average binding energy, fragmentation energy, and second-order energy difference. The results show that SiMg _n clusters with n = 5 and 8 are more stable than others. MO contents analysis show that the Si 3p-orbitals and Mg 3s-orbital are mainly responsible for the stability of these two clusters. The results of the natural charge population (NCP) and natural electronic configure (NEC) analysis of the electronic properties reveal that the charges in SiMg_n (n = 1-12) clusters transfer from magnesium atoms to silicon frame, and electronic charge distributions are primarily governed by s- and p-orbital interactions. In addition, the Vertical ionization potential (VIP), vertical electron affinity (VEA), and chemical hardness of ground sates of SiMg _n (n = 1-12) clusters were studied in detail and compared with the experimental results. The conclusions show that the chemical hardness of most SiMg _n clusters are lower than that of pure Mg _{n + 1} (n = 1-12) clusters, except for n = 1 and 8. This indicates that the doping of silicon atom can always reduce the chemical hardness of pure magnesium clusters. Finally, the infrared and Raman spectral properties of SiMg₅ and SiMg₈ clusters were calculated and discussed in detail.     

Study of the electronic and atomic structure of thermally treated SrTiO3(110) surfaces

The electronic structure of heated SrTiO₃(110) surfaces was investigated with metastable impact electron spectroscopy and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (He(I)). Scanning tunnelling microscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to study the topology of the surface. The crystals were heated up to 1000°C under reducing conditions in ultrahigh vacuum or under oxidizing conditions in synthetic air for 1 h, respectively. Under both conditions microfacetting of the surface is observed. The experimental results are compared with ab initio Hartree–Fock calculations, also presented here, carried out for both ideal and reconstructed SrTiO₃(110) surfaces. The results give direct evidence for Ti termination of the faceted TiO₂ rows. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigation on the stability,electronic, optical,and mechanical properties of novel calcium carbonate hydrates via first-principles calculations

Calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) is an inorganic compound which is widely used in industry, chemistry, construction, ocean acidification, and biomineralization due to its rich constituent on earth and excellent performance, in which calcium carbonate hydrates are important systems. In Zou et al's work (Science, 2019, 363, 396-400), they found a novel calcium carbonate hemihydrate phase, but the structural stability, optical, and mechanical properties have not been studied. In this work, the stability, electronic, optical, and mechanical properties of novel calcium carbonate hydrates were investigated by using the first-principles calculations using density functional theory. CaCO₃·xH₂O (x = 1/2, 1 and 6) are determined dynamically stable phases by phonon spectrum, but the Gibbs energy of reaction of CaCO₃·1/2H₂O is higher than other calcium carbonate hydrates. That is why CaCO₃·1/2H₂O is hard to synthesize in the experiments. In addition, the optical and mechanical properties of CaCO₃·xH₂O (x = 1/2, 1 and 6) are expounded in detail. It shows that the CaCO₃·1/2H₂O has the largest bulk modulus, shear modulus, and Young's modulus with the values 60.51 GPa, 36.56 GPa, and 91.28 GPa. This work will provide guidance for experiments and its applications, such as biomineralization, geology, and industrial processes.     

Theoretical study on the structures, isomerization and stability of SiC3H isomers

The calculations of the geometry optimizations, energies, dipole moments, vibrational spectra, rotational constants, and isomerization of doublet SiC₃H species were performed using density functional theory and ab initio methods. Four types of isomers, a total of 18 minima, connected by 16 interconversion transition states, were located on the potential energy surface (PES) at the B3LYP/6-311G (d, p) level. More accurate energies were obtained at the CCSD(T)/6-311G(2df, 2p), and G3(MP2) levels. With the highest isomerization barrier, the lowest lying structure, linear A1 possesses the largest kinetic stability. Besides, the isomerization barriers of A2, A4, C2, F1, F4 and F5 are over 10 kcal/mol, and these isomers are also considered to be higher kinetically stable. Other isomers cannot be kinetically stabilized with considerably low isomerization barriers. Investigation on the bonding properties and the computations of vibrational spectra, dipole moments, and rotational constants for SiC₃H isomers are helpful for understanding their structures and also valuable for their detections in the interstellar space and laboratory.     

First-principles study of the electronic and magnetic properties of oxygen-deficient rutile TiO2(1 1 0) surface

Based on first-principles electronic structure calculations we find that the bridging oxygen vacancies on the (1 1 0) surface is more favorable and may be responsible for the unexpected ferromagnetism in undoped rutile TiO₂. Our results show that the ferromagnetism largely originates from the d orbitals of low-charge-state Ti ions converted from Ti⁴⁺ ions induced by the surface oxygen vacancies. The second-nearest neighbors of these ions (fivefold coordinated Ti) also contribute to the total magnetic moments. The spins induced by the local oxygen vacancies form a ferromagnetic arrangement.