First-principles study of structural stability and elastic properties of MgPd_(3) and its hydride

Theoretical study of structural stability and elastic properties ofα-andβ-MgPd_(3)intermetallic compounds as well as their hydrides have been carried out based on density functional theory.The results indicateα-MgPd_(3)is more stable thanβphase with increased stability in their hydrides.The calculated elastic constants ofα-MgPd_(3)are overall larger thanβphase.After hydrogenation,the elastic constants are enlarged.And the elastic moduli exhibit similar tendency.The anisotropy ofα-MgPd_(3)is larger thanβphase,and the hydrides demonstrate larger anisotropy.Their ductility follows the order ofα-MgPd_(3)H_(0.5)<α-MgPd_(3)<β-MgPd_(3)H<β-MgPd_(3).Compared withβphase,higher Debye temperature ofα-MgPd_(3)implies stronger covalent interaction,and the Debye temperature of hydrides increases slightly.The electronic structures demonstrate that the Pd-Pd interaction is stronger than Pd-Mg,and Pd-H bonds play a significant role in the phase stability and elastic properties of hydrides.

Thermodynamic property of ternary compound MgCaSi: A study from ab initio Debye-Grüneisen model

The thermodynamic properties of Mg Ca Si and its mother phase Ca2 Si are comparatively investigated from ab initio calculations and quasi-harmonic Debye-Grüneisen model. At 0 K, Mg Ca Si is more thermodynamically stable. Under high temperature, the advantage of higher thermodynamically stability of Mg Ca Si is reduced, originating from the less negative entropy contribution because the thermodynamic entropy of Mg Ca Si increases more slowly with temperature and the entropy values are slightly smaller.With increasing temperature, the anti-softening ability for Mg Ca Si is slightly smaller due to the slightly faster decrease trend of bulk modulus than that of Ca2 Si, although the bulk modulus of Mg Ca Si is higher in the whole temperature range considered. The thermal expansion behaviors of both Mg Ca Si and Ca_(2)Si exhibit similar increase trend, although thermal expansion coefficient of MgCaSi is slightly lower and the increases is slightly slower at lower temperature. The isochoric heat capacity CVand isobaric heat capacity CPof MgCaSi and Ca_(2)Si rise nonlinearly with temperature, and both CVare close to the Dulong–Petit limit at high temperature due to the negligibly small electronic contribution. The Debye temperature of both phases decrease with increasing temperature, and the downtrend for Mg Ca Si is slightly faster.However, MgCaSi possess slightly higher Debye temperature, implying the stronger chemical bonds and higher thermal conductivity than the mother phase Ca_(2)Si. The Grüneisen parameter of MgCaSi and Ca_(2)Si increase slightly with temperature, the values of MgCaSi are slightly larger. The investigation of electronic structures shows that with substitution of partial Ca by Mg in Ca_(2)Si, the stronger MgASi,MgACa and SiASi covalent bonds are formed, and plays a very significant role for the structural stability and mechanical properties.

Ideal strength of Mg_(2)X(X¼Si,Ge,Sn and Pb)from first-principles

First-principles calculations within generalized gradient approximation have been performed to investigate ideal strengths of anti-fluorite structured Mg_(2)X(X¼Si,Ge,Sn and Pb)compounds.The present calculations showed that the ideal tensile strengths of Mg_(2)X occur in the[111]directions while the ideal shear strengths appear in the(111)[11-2]systems.Both ideal tensile strength and shear strength of Mg_(2)X(X¼Si,Ge,Sn and Pb)decreased gradually with the increase of atomic number of X.The microscopic process and inherent mechanisms of mechanical properties were discussed from the evolution of electronic structures during strain.

First-Principle Calculations of the MgYA_4(A=Co and Ni)Phase with AuBe_5-Type Structure

First-principles calculations have been performed to study the structural, mechanical and magnetic properties of the MgYCo4 and MgYNi4 phases in AuBes-type structure. The obtained values of cohesive energy as well as formation energy prove that the MgYCo4 and MgYNi4 phases have a good combination of structural stability and alloying ability, which is also supported by electronic structure. It is found that the magnetic moment of the MgYCo4 phase is 19.06 ktB per unit cell mainly owed to the 3d state of Co atom, and the MgYNi4 phase exhibits no magnetism. Both the trigonal shear constant C44 and the shear modulus G of the MgYNi4 phase are larger than those of the MgYCo4 phase. Plasticity of alloys has been estimated by the C11-C12 and Young＇s modulus E, and C12-C44, shear to bulk modulus ratio G/B and Poisson＇s ratio v have been studied to predict the ductility of alloys. According to the calculated results, the MgYCo4 phase has better plasticity as well as ductility, compared with the MgYNi4 phase.