Structural and thermodynamic properties of wurtzite-type aluminium nitride from first-principles calculations

The lattice parameter, bulk modulus and its pressure derivative of the wurtzite-type aluminium nitride (w-AlN) are investigated by using the Cambridge Serial Total Energy Package (CASTEP) program in the framework of Density Functional Theory (DFT). The calculated results are in good agreement with the available experimental data and other theoretical results. Through the quasi-harmonic Debye model, the dependences of the normalized lattice parameters $a/a_{0}$ and $ c/c_{0}$, axial ratio $c/a$, normalized primitive-cell volume $V/V_{0}$, Debye temperature ${\it\Theta} _{\rm D} $ and heat capacity $C_{\rm V}$ on pressure $P $ and temperature $ T$ are obtained. It is found that the interlayer covalent interactions (Al-N bonds) are more (even a little) sensitive to temperature and pressure than intralayer ones (N--N bonds), which gives rise to a little lattice anisotropy in the w-AlN.     

First-principles investigations on elastic and thermodynamic properties of zinc-blende structure BeS

In this paper the elastic and thermodynamic properties of the cubic zinc-blende structure BeS at different pressures and temperatures are investigated by using \textit{ab initio} plane-wave pseudopotential density functional theory method within the generalized gradient approximation (GGA). The calculated results are in excellent agreement with the available experimental data and other theoretical results. It is found that the zinc-blende structure BeS should be unstable above 60GPa. The thermodynamic properties of the zinc-blende structure BeS are predicted by using the quasi-harmonic Debye model. The pressure-volume-temperature ($P-V-T$) relationship, the variations of the thermal expansion coefficient $\alpha$ and the heat capacity $C_{V}$ with pressure $P$ and temperature $T$, as well as the Gr\"{u}neisen parameter-pressure-temperature ($\gamma -P-T$) relationship are obtained systematically in the ranges of 0--90GPa and 0--2000K.     

First-principles calculations of structural and thermodynamic properties of BeB2 compound

The lattice parameter bulk modulus and pressure derivative of BeB2 are calculated by using the Cambridge Serial Total Energy Package （CASTEP） program in the frame of density function theory. The calculated results agree well with the average experimental data and other theoretical results. Through the quasi-harmonic Debye model, the dependences of the normalized lattice parameters a/ao, c/c0 and the normalized primitive cell volume V/Vo on pressure P, the variation of the thermal expansion coefficient ~ with pressure P and temperature T, as well as the dependences of the heat capacity Cv on pressure P and temperature T are obtained systematically.     

Electronic and optical properties of the zinc-blende structured LiZnN under pressure

The electronic and optical properties of the cubic zinc-blende (ZB) structured filled tetrahedral semiconductor α-LiZnN under pressure are investigated by using \textit{ab initio} plane wave pseudopotential density functional theory method within the generalized gradient approximation (GGA). The electronic band structure and the density of state under pressure are systematically described. The basic optical constants, including the reflection and absorption spectra, the energy-loss function, the complex refractive index and the dielectric function, are calculated and analysed at different external pressures. Our results suggested that the ZB α-LiZnN is transparent in the partially ultra-violet to the visible light region, and it seems that the transparency is hardly affected by the pressure.     

A new transition metal diphosphide α-MoP2 synthesized by a high-temperature and high-pressure technique

Monoclinic $\alpha $-MoP$_{2}$, with the OsGe$_{2}$-type structure (space group $C2/m$, $Z = 4$) and lattice parameters $a = 8.7248(11) $ Å, $b = 3.2322(4) $ Å, $c = 7.4724(9) $ Å, and $\beta =119.263^\circ $, was synthesized under a pressure of 4 GPa at a temperature between 1100 ${^\circ}$C and 1200 ${^\circ}$C. The structure of $\alpha $-MoP$_{2}$ and its relationship to other transition metal diphosphides are discussed. Surprisingly, the ambient pressure phase orthorhombic $\beta $-MoP$_{2}$ (space group Cmc2$_{1}$) is denser in structure than $\alpha $-MoP$_{2}$. Room-temperature high-pressure x-ray diffraction studies exclude the possibility of phase transition from $\beta $-MoP$_{2}$ to $\alpha $-MoP$_{2}$, suggesting that $\alpha $-MoP$_{2}$ is a stable phase at ambient conditions; this is also supported by the total energy and phonon calculations.     

Structural, thermodynamic and electronic properties of zinc-blende AlN from first-principles calculations

Structural, thermodynamic and electronic properties of zinc-blende AlN under pressure are investigated by first-principles calculations based on the plane-wave basis set. Through the analysis of enthalpy variation of AlN in the zinc-blende (ZB) and the rock-salt (RS) structures with pressure, we find the phase transition of AlN from ZB to RS structure occurs at 6.7 GPa. By using the quasi-harmonic Debye model, we obtain the heat capacity C_V, Debye temperature Θ_D, Grüneisen parameter γ and thermal expansion coefficient α. The electronic properties including fundamental energy gaps and hydrostatic deformation potentials are investigated and the dependence of energy gaps on pressure is analysed.     

First-Principle Calculations for Thermodynamic Properties of LiBC Under High Temperature and High Pressure

The thermodynamic properties of LiBC are investigated by using the full-potential linearlzed muffin-tin orbital method （FP-LMTO） within the frame of density functional theory （DFT） and using the quasi-harmonic Debye model. The dependencies of the normalized lattice parameters a/a0 and c/c0, the ratio （c/a）/2, the normalized primitive volume V/V0 on pressure and temperature are successfully obtained. It is found that the interlayer covalent interactions （Li-B bonds or Li-C bonds） are more sensitive to temperature and pressure than intralayer ones （B-C bonds）, as gives rise to the extreme lattice anisotropy in the bulk hop LiBC.     

First-Principle Calculations for Thermodynamic Properties of LiBC Under High Temperature and High Pressure

The thermodynamic properties of LiBC are investigated by using the full-potential linearized muffin-tin orbital method (FP-LMTO) within the frame of density functional theory (DFT) and using the quasi-harmonic Debye model. The dependencies of the normalized lattice parameters a/a0 and c/c0, the ratio (c/a)/2, the normalized primitive volume V/V0 on pressure and temperature are successfully obtained. It is found that the interlayer covalent interactions (Li-B bonds or Li-C bonds) are more sensitive to temperature and pressure than intralayer ones (B-C bonds), as gives rise to the extreme lattice anisotropy in the bulk hcp LiBC.     

First-principles calculations for elastic properties of rutile TiO2 under pressure

This paper studies the equilibrium structure parameters and the dependences of the elastic properties on pressure for rutile TiO2 by using the Cambridge Serial Total Energy Package （CASTEP） program in the frame of density functional theory. The obtained equilibrium structure parameters, bulk modulus B0 and its pressure derivative B′0 are in good agreement with experiments and the theoretical results. The six independent elastic constants of rutile TiO2 under pressure are theoretically investigated for the first time. It is found that, as pressure increases, the elastic constants C11, C33, C66, C12 and C13 increase, The variation of elastic constant C44 is not obvious and the anisotropy will weaken.     

First-principles calculations of structure and high pressure phase transition in gallium nitride

The phase transitions of semiconductor GaN from the Wurtzite (WZ) structure and the zinc-blende (ZB) structure to the rocksalt (RS) structure are investigated by using the first-principles plane-wave pseudopotential density functional method combined with the ultrasoft pseudopotential scheme in the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) correction. It is found that the phase transitions from the WZ structure and the ZB structure to the RS structure occur at pressures of 46.1 GPa and 45.2 GPa, respectively. The lattice parameters, bulk moduli and their pressure derivatives of these structures of GaN are also calculated. Our results are consistent with available experimental and other theoretical results. The dependence of the normalized formula-unit volume $V/V_{0 }$ on pressure $P$ is also successfully obtained.     

First-principles study on the effect of Hf content onmartensitic transformation temperatureof TiNiHf alloy

In this paper a first-principles study of the electronic structure and stability of B2 TiDFT TiNiHf 电子结构 马氏体转化温度 平面波DFT, TiNiHf, electronic structure, martensitic transformation temperatureProject supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No 50471018).3/3/2006 12:00:00 AM6/7/2006 12:00:00 AMIn this paper a first-principles study of the electronic structure and stability of B2 Ti1-xNiHfx （x = 0.2, 0.4, 0.6） and B19′ Ti1-xNiHfx（x = 0, 0.5） alloys is presented. The calculations are performed by the plane-wave pseudopotential method in the framework of the density functional theory with the generalized gradient approximation. This paper calculates the lattice parameters, density of states, charge density, and heats of formation. The results show that the electronic structure and stability of B2 Ti1-xNiHfx change gradually with Hf content. However, Hf content has little effect on the electronic structure and stability of B19′ Ti1-xNiHfx. The mechanism of the effect of Hf content on martensitic transformation temperature of TiNiHf alloys is studied from the electronic structure.     

First-principles calculations for electronic, optical and thermodynamic properties of ZnS

The electronic, optical and thermodynamic properties of ZnS in the zinc-blende （ZB） and wurtzite （WZ） structures are investigated by using the plane-wave pseudopotential density functional theory （DFT）. The results obtained are consistent with other theoretical results and the available experimental data. When the pressures are above 20.5 and 27 GPa, the ZB-ZnS and the WZ-ZnS are converted into indirect gap semiconductors, respectively. The critical point structure of the frequency-dependent complex dielectric function is investigated and analysed to identify the optical transitions. Moreover, the values of heat capacity Cv and Debye temperature θ at different pressures and different temperatures are also obtained successfully.     

Structural and thermodynamic properties of AlB2 compound

We employ a first-principles plane wave method with the relativistic analytic pseudopotential of Hartwigsen, Goedecker and Hutter (HGH) scheme in the frame of DFT to calculate the equilibrium lattice parameters and the thermodynamic properties of AlB₂ compound with hcp structure. The obtained lattice parameters are in good agreement with the available experimental data and those calculated by others. Through the quasi-harmonic Debye model, obtained successfully are the dependences of the normalized lattice parameters a/a₀ and c/c₀ on pressure P, the normalized primitive cell volume V/V₀ on pressure P, the variation of the thermal expansion α with pressure P and temperature T, as well as the Debye temperature \Theta_D and the heat capacity C_V on pressure P and temperature T.     

Molecular dynamics study of the ternary compound Li3AlB2O6

A new compound with the stone cheinical composition as Li3AlB2O6 but with a different x-ray powder diffraction pattern as reported before was synthesized and studied experimentally by M. He, Chen X Let al （J. Solid State Chem. 163, 369 （2002））, but there lacks first principles study on the structure of it. Using conjugant gradient （CG） molecule dynamics （MD） simulation with a full relaxation of the atomic positions and of the shape and size of the cell, the structure of Li3AlB2O6 is studied from first principles. For the density functional, the local density approximation （LDA） and the generalized gradient approximation （GGA） forms are used respectively. Both the LDA and GGA results support the experimental structure of M. He et al. The result of MD simulation using GGA agrees with the experimental result much better. The energy bands are also studied, the band gap given by LDA and GGA are 5.65 eV, 5.34eV, respectively.     

Elastic and thermodynamic properties of c-BN from first-principles calculations

The elastic constants and thermodynamic properties of c-BN are calculated using the first-principles plane wave method with the relativistic analytic pseudopotential of the Hartwigen, Goedecker and Hutter (HGH) type in the frame of local density approximation and using the quasi-harmonic Debye model, separately. Moreover, the dependences of the normalized volume V/V₀ on pressure P, as well as the bulk modulus B, the thermal expansion α, and the heat capacity C_V on pressure P and temperature T are also successfully obtained.     

Theoretical Calculations for Structural, Elastic and Thermodynamic Properties of MgB2 under High Pressure

We have investigated the structural and elastic properties of MgB₂ under high pressures using the full-potential linearized muffin-tin orbital (FP-LMTO) scheme within the generalized gradient approximation correction (GGA) in the frame of density functional theory. The calculated pressure dependence of the normalized volume is in excellent agreement with the experimental results. At the same time the elastic constants and acoustic anisotropy as a function of applied pressure are presented. Through the quasi-harmonic Debye model, we also investigate the thermodynamic properties of MgB₂.     

ZrV2结构、弹性和热力学性质的第一性原理计算

采用基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理平面波赝势方法研究ZrV₂的晶体结构和弹性,利用准谐Debye模型计算在不同温度(T=0~1200 K)和不同压强(P=0~20 GPa)下ZrV₂的热力学性质,包括弹性模量与压强,热熔与温度,以及热膨胀系数与温度和压力的关系.结果表明:计算的ZrV₂晶格常数与实验值符合较好,晶体材料的弹性常数随着压力增加而增加;在一定温度下,相对体积、热熔随着压强的增加而减小,德拜温度、弹性模量随着压强的增加而增加,且高压下温度对ZrV₂热膨胀系数的影响小于压强的影响.     

Thermodynamic properties of OsB under high temperature and high pressure

The energy-volume curves of OsB have been obtained using the first-principles plane-wave ultrasoft-pseudopotential density functional theory (DFT) within the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and local density approximation (LDA). Using the quasi-harmonic Debye model we first analyze the specific heat, the coefficients of thermal expansion as well as the thermodynamic Grüneisen parameter of OsB in a wide temperature range at high pressure. At temperature 300 K, the coefficients of thermal expansion α_V by LDA and GGA calculations are 1.67×10⁻⁵ 1/K and 2.01×10⁻⁵ 1/K, respectively. The specific heat of OsB at constant pressure (volume) is also calculated. Meanwhile, we find that the Debye temperature of OsB increases monotonically with increasing pressure. The present study leads to a better understanding of how the OsB materials respond to pressure and temperature.     

LDA and GGA investigations of some ground state properties of aluminium with the all electron MAPW method

Both in local-density approximation (LDA) and in generalised-gradient approximation (GGA) the electronic structure of Aluminium is evaluated by use of the modified augmented plane wave (MAPW) self-consistent scheme. The LDA based on the exchange correlation functional by Vosko, Wilk and Nusair gives the equilibrium lattice constant in good accord with its experimental value. The hole sheet of the Fermi surface, h₂, is well described by weakly distorted spheres with origin at and in the reciprocal lattice. Near and above the equilibrium lattice constant the electronic sheet, e₃, is found to be quite similar to the model originally proposed by Ashcroft. However, even moderate compressions induce a drastic variation.Received: 17 November 2003, Published online: 2 April 2004PACS: 71.18. + y Fermi surface: calculations and measurements; effective mass, g factor - 71.20.-b Electron density of states and band structure of crystalline solids     

Magnetism and giant magnetocaloric effect in rare-earth-based compounds R_3BWO_9(R = Gd,Dy, Ho)

The magnetism and magnetocaloric effect(MCE) of rare-earth-based tungstate compounds R_3 BWO_9(R=Gd,Dy,Ho) have been studied by magnetic susceptibility,isothermal magnetization,and specific heat measurements.No obvious long-range magnetic ordering can be found down to 2 K.The Curie-Weiss fitting and magnetic susceptibilities under different applied fields reveal the existence of weak short-range antiferromagnetic couplings at low temperature in these systems.The calculations of isothermal magnetization exhibit a giant MCE with the maximum changes of magnetic entropy being 54.80 J/kg-K at 2 K for Gd_3 BWO_9,28.5 J/kg-K at 6 K for Dy_3 BWO_9,and 29.76 J/kg-K at 4 K for Ho_3 BWO_9,respectively,under a field change of 0-7 T.Especially for Gd_3 BWO_9,the maximum value of magnetic entropy change(-ΔS_M~(max)) and adiabatic temperature change(-ΔT_(ad)~(max)) are 36.75 J/kg·K and 5.56 K for a low field change of 0-3 T,indicating a promising application for low temperature magnetic refrigeration.