Investigation on the crystal structure and mechanical properties of the ternary compound Mg_(11-x)Zn_(x)Sr combined with experimental measurements and first-principles calculations

A new ternary compound,Mg_(11-x)Zn_(x)Sr in the Mg-Zn-Sr system was observed and studied using Scanning Electron Microscopy(SEM),Energy-Dispersive Spectroscope(EDS),X-Ray Diffraction(XRD)and Transmission Electron Microscopy(TEM).The XRD patterns were refined by the Rietveld refinement method and the results revealed that the crystallized Mg_(11-x)Zn_(x)Sr phase belonged to tetragonal I41/amd space group and had the Cd_(11)Ba prototype.The Mg atoms were successfully doped into Zn_(11)Sr crystal lattice by occupying Zn atomic sites.Moreover,the Rietveld refinement and computational results demonstrated a gradual decrease in the a-axis and c-axis lattice parameters with decreasing concentration levels of Mg coordination substitution in the lattice of Mg_(11-x)Zn_(x)Sr compound.The elastic constants and modulus of the Mg_(11-x)Zn_(x)Sr compounds calculated by first-principles calculations(FPC)indicated they were increased with the increasing of Zn content.The variation of hardness,D-band widths and the total density of states for Mg_(11-x)Zn_(x)Sr compounds with Zn content was discussed.