Geometry,electronic structure and energy barriers of all possible isomers of Fe2C3 nanoparticle

The search for stable structures of neutral Fe₂C₃ particle was based on the geometry optimization of the known FeC₃ and Fe₂C₂ isomers with the Fe and C atoms approaching from various directions. The geometry optimization of more than 2,000 initial structures was carried out using the DFT based DMol³ method and converged to 41 stable configurations. The structures containing C₃ triangle and the cyclic planar isomer with transannular bonds are found to have the lowest binding energies. The effective charges and total spin densities on the atoms were calculated using integral scheme incorporated in DVM and Hirshfeld procedure of DMol³. The relations between geometrical structures and spin moments ordering are discussed. For the evaluation of potential barriers the geometry optimization of all Fe₂C₃ configurations was performed with a thermal occupation, corresponding to the various values of the excitation energy.