Structural,phonon,elastic,thermodynamic and electronic properties of Mg-X(X=La,Nd,Sm)intermetallics:The first principles study

We show the results of first-principles calculations of structural,phonon,elastic,thermal and electronic properties of the Mg-X inter-metallics in their respective ground state phase and meta-stable phases at equilibrium geometry and the studied pressure range.Phonon dispersion spectra for these compounds were investigated by using the linear response technique.The phonon spectra do not show any abnormality in their respective ground state phase.The respective ground states phases of the studied system remain stable within the studied pressure range.Electronic and thermodynamic properties were derived by analysis of the electronic structures and quasi-harmonic approximation.The mixed bonding character of the Mg-X intermetallics is revealed by Mg-X bonds,and it leads the metallic nature.Most of the contribution originated from X ions d like states at Fermi level compared to that of Mg ion in these intermetallics.In this work,we also predicted the melting temperature of these intermetallics and evaluated the Debye temperature by using elastic constants.

The First Principle Study on the Rectification of Molecular Junctions Based on the Alkyl-chain-modified Phenyl Benzothiophene Derivative

Using density functional theory（DFT） combined with nonequilibrium Green＇s function investigates the electron-transport properties of several molecular junctions based on the PBTDT-CH=NH molecule, which is modified by one to four alkyl groups forming PBTDT-（CH2）nCH=NH. The electronic structures of the isolated molecules（thiol-ended PBTDT-（CH2）nCH=N） have been investigated before the electron-transport calculations are performed. The asymmetric current-voltage characteristics have been obtained for the molecular junctions. Rectifying performance of Au/S-PBTDT-CH=N-S/Au molecular junction can be regulated by introducing alkyl chain. The N3 molecular junction exhibits the best rectifying effect. Its maximum rectifying ratio is 878, which is 80 times more than that of the molecular junction based on the original N molecular junction. The current-voltage（I-V） curves of all the sandwich systems in this work are illustrated by transmission spectra and molecular projection density analysis.

First Principle Study on Optical Properties of Tri-Group Doped(6,6) SiC Nanotubes

The optical properties of tri-group（B, Al, Ga, In） doped（6,6） SiC nanotubes（SiCNTs） are studied from first principles. The results show that the main absorption and dispersion of SiCNTs caused by the intrinsic transition appear in the ultraviolet-visible region（below 500 nm）, and the tri-group doping increases the minimum dielectric constant value resulting in enhanced transmittance. In addition, the tri-group doping can introduce a weak absorption and dispersion region in the near-mid-infrared region, and the response peak blue shifts as the diameter of the doping atom increases. Comparative studies of reflectance, absorptivity, and transmittance show that the key factors affecting the transmittance of SiCNTs are reflectance（or refractive index） rather than absorption coefficient.

The First Principle Calculation of Electronic Structure and Optical Properties of CdGeAs_2

The electronic structure and optical properties of CdGeAs2 were calculated by the first principle method using ultra-soft pseudo-potential approach of the plane wave based upon density functional theory （DFT）. Mulliken population analysis showed that atomic orbital hybridization occurs when forming chemical bonds. The relationship between inter-band transition and optical properties was analyzed to provide a theoretical basis for investigating or controlling CdGeAs2 crystal defects.

First Principle Study on the Rectification of Molecular Junctions Based on the Thiol-ended Oligosilane

The electron transport properties of various molecular junctions based on the thiol-ended oligosilane are investigated through density functional theory combined with non-equilibrium Green＇s function formalism. Our calculations show that oligosilanes doped by the phenyl and -C10H6 groups demonstrate better rectifying effect and their rectification ratios are up to 15.41 and 65.13 for their molecular junctions. The current-voltage （I-V） curves of all the Au/ modified oligosilane/Au systems in this work are illustrated by frontier molecular orbitals, transmission spectra and density of states under zero bias. And their rectifying behaviors are analyzed through transmission spectra.

First principle study of LiXS_2(X=Ga, In) as cathode materials for Li ion batteries

From first principle calculations, we demonstrate that LiXS_2（X = Ga, In） compounds have potential applications as cathode materials for Li ion batteries. It is shown that Li can be extracted from the LiXS_2 lattice with relatively small volume change and the XS_4 tetrahedron structure framework remains stable upon delithiation. The theoretical capacity and average intercalation potential of the LiGaS_2（LiInS_2） cathode are 190.4（144._2） m Ah/g and 3.50 V（3.53 V）. The electronic structures of the LiXS_2 are insulating with band gaps of _2.88 eV and 1.99 eV for X = Ga and In, respectively.However, Li vacancies, which are formed through delithiation, change the electronic structure substantially from insulating to metallic structure, indicating that the electrical conductivities of the LiXS_2 compounds should be good during cycling.Li ion migration energy barriers are also calculated, and the results show that Li ion diffusions in the LiXS_2 compounds can be as good as those in the currently widely used electrode materials.

Adsorption of Ag on M-doped graphene:First principle calculations

Graphene is an ideal reinforcing phase for a high-performance composite filler,which is of great theoretical and practical significance for improving the wettability and reliability of the filler.However,the poor adsorption characteristics between graphene and the silver base filler significantly affect the application of graphene filler in the brazing field.It is a great challenge to improve the adsorption characteristics between a graphene and silver base filler.To solve this issue,the adsorption characteristic between graphene and silver was studied with first principle calculation.The effects of Ga,Mo,and W on the adsorption properties of graphene were explored.There are three possible adsorbed sites,the hollow site(H),the bridge site(B),and the top site(T).Based on this research,the top site is the most preferentially adsorbed site for Ag atoms,and there is a strong interaction between graphene and Ag atoms.Metal element doping enhances local hybridization between C or metal atoms and Ag.Furthermore,compared with other doped structures(Ga and Mo),W atom doping is the most stable adsorption structure and can also improve effective adsorption characteristic performance between graphene and Ag.

Electronic structure and optical properties of rutile RuO_2 from first principles

The systematic trends of electrionic structure and optical properties of rutile （P42/mnm） RuO2 have been cal- culated by using the plane-wave norm-conserving pseudopotential density functional theory （DFT） method within the generalised gradient approximation （GGA） for the exchange-correlation potential. The obtained equilibrium structure parameters are in excellent agreement with the experimental data. The calculated bulk modulus and elastic constants are also in good agreement with the experimental data and available theoretical calculations. Analysis based on elec- tronic structure and pseudogap reveals that the bonding nature in RuO2 is a combination of covalent, ionic and metallic bonds. Based on a Kramers Kronig analysis of the reflectivity, we have obtained the spectral dependence of the real and imaginary parts of the complex dielectric constant （~1 and z2, respectively） and the refractive index （n）; and comparisons have shown that the theoretical results agree well with the experimental data as well. Meanwhile, we have also calculated the absorption coefficient, reflectivity index, electron energy loss function of RuO2 for radiation up to 30 eV. As a result, the predicted reflectivity index is in good agreement with the experimental data at low energies.

First principle calculation of elastic and thermodynamic properties of stishovite

Using ab initio plane-wave pseudo-potential density functional theory method, the elastic constants and band structures of stishovite were calculated. The calculated elastic constants under ambient conditions agree well with previous experimental and theoretical data. C13, C33, C44, and C66 increase nearly linearly with pressure while C11 and C12 show irregularly changes with pressure over 20 GPa. The shear modulus （Cll-C12）/2 was observed to decrease drastically between 40 GPa and 50 GPa, indicating acoustic mode softening in consistency with the phase transition to CaC12-type structure around 50 GPa. The calculated band structures show no obvious difference at 0 and 80 GPa, being consistent with the high incompressibility of stishovite. With a quasi-harmonic Debye model, thermodynamic properties of stishovite were also calculated and the results are in good agreement with available experimental data.

First principles study of ceramic materials(IVB group carbides)under ultrafast laser irradiation

Group IVB carbides have been applied in extreme aerospace environments as hard ceramic coatings; ZrC is being considered as a replacement for SiC in nuclear reactors. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the laser irradiation response of group IVB carbides is of clear significance. However, the existing knowledge on the fundamental properties of IVB group carbides is limited and insufficient with regard to both irradiated and non-irradiated characteristics. We investigate the effect of ultrafast laser irradiation on the lattice stability of ceramic materials （IVB group carbides） using the density functional perturbation theory （DFPT）. The calculated phonon frequencies of TiC and ZrC at the ground state are in good agreement with previous calculations and experimental values. The phonon frequencies of IVB group carbides are positive, even though the electronic temperature reached 5 eV. Thus, IVB group carbides are more stable under ultrafast laser irradiation, which has greater benefits in nuclear and aeronautical applications compared to metals （W, Na）, semimetals （Bi）, and semiconductors （Si, SIC）. The thermodynamic properties of ZrC are calculated as functions of their lattice temperature at different electronic temperatures. The elastic shear constants of IVB group carbides satisfy the Born stability criteria at Te = 5 eV. In addition, a comparison of the predicted melting temperatures of IVB group carbides, reveal that HfC is better suited for extreme high-temperature environments.

Electronic Structure and Optical Properties in Uranium Dioxide:the First Principle Calculations

We report a study of the electronic structure and optical properties of uranium dioxide （U02） based on the ab-initio density-functional theory and using the generalized gradient approximation. To correctly describe the strong correlation between 5 f electrons of a uranium atom, we employ the on-site Hubbard U correction term and optimize the correlation parameter of the bulk uranium dioxide. Then we give the structural and electronic properties of the ground state of uranium dioxide. Based on the accurate electronic structure, we calculate the complex dielectric function of UO2 and the related optieM properties, such as reflectivity, refractive index, extinction index, energy loss spectra, and absorption coefficient.

Magnetic and Electronic Properties of Double Perovskite Ba2SmNbO6 without Octahedral Tilting by First Principle Calculations

The structural, magnetic and electronic properties of the double perovskite Ba2SmNbO6 （for the simple cubic structure where no octahedral tilting exists anymore） are studied using the density functional theory within the generalized gradient approximation as well as taking into account the on-site Coulomb repulsive interaction. The total energy, the spin magnetic moment, the band structure and the density of states are calculated. The optimization of the lattice constants is 8.5173 A, which is in good agreement with the experimental value 8.5180 A. The calculations reveal that Ba2SmNbO6 has a stable ferromagnetic ground state and the spin magnetic moment per molecule is 5.00μB/f.u. which comes mostly from the Sin3＋ ion only. By analysis of the band structure, the compound exhibits the direct band gap material and half-metallic ferromagnetic nature with 100% spin-up polarization, which implies potential applications of this new lanthanide compound in magneto-electronic and spintronic devices.

A Calorimetric Study Assisted with First Principle Calculations of Specific Heat for Si-Ge Alloys within a Broad Temperature Range

Calorimetric measurements are performed to determine the specific heat of Si-xat.% Ge(where x = 0, 10, 30,50, 70, 90 and 100) alloys within a broad temperature range from 123 to 823 K. The measured specific heat increases dramatically at low temperatures, and the composition dependence of specific heat is evaluated from the experimental results. Meanwhile, the specific heat at constant volume, the thermal expansion, and the bulk modulus of Si and Ge are investigated by the first principle calculations combined with the quasiharmonic approximation. The negative thermal expansion is observed for both Si and Ge. Furthermore, the isobaric specific heat of Si and Ge is calculated correspondingly from OK to their melting points, which is verified by the measured results and accounts for the temperature dependence in a still boarder range.

Thermodynamic and Optical Properties of CuAlO_2 under Pressure from First Principle

The structural stability, thermodynamic and optical properties of delafossite CuAlO2 were investigated using the norm-conserving pseudopotential technique based on the fi rst-principle density-functional theory. The ground-state properties obtained by minimizing the total energy were in favorable agreement with previous works. By using the quasi-harmonic Debye model, the thermodynamic properties including the Debye temperature QD, heat capacity CV, thermal expansion coeffi cient a, and Grüneisen parameter g were successfully obtained in the temperature range from 0 to 1 000 K and pressure range from 0 to 80 GPa, respectively. The optical properties including dielectric function e（v）, absorption coeffi cient a（v）, refl ectivity coeffi cient R（v）, and refractive index n（v） were also calculated and analyzed.

First‑principles study on electronic structure,optical and magnetic properties of rare earth elements X(X=Sc,Y,La,Ce,Eu)doped with two‑dimensional GaSe

The electronic structure,magnetic,and optical properties of two-dimensional(2D)GaSe doped with rare earth elements X(X=Sc,Y,La,Ce,Eu)were calculated using the first-principles plane wave method based on den-sity functional theory.The results show that intrinsic 2D GaSe is a p-type nonmagnetic semiconductor with an indi-rect bandgap of 2.6611 eV.The spin-up and spin-down channels of Sc-,Y-,and La-doped 2D GaSe are symmetric,they are non-magnetic semiconductors.The magnetic moments of Ce-and Eu-doped 2D GaSe are 0.908μ_(B)and 7.163μ_(B),which are magnetic semiconductors.Impurity energy levels appear in both spin-up and spin-down chan-nels of Eu-doped 2D GaSe,which enhances the probability of electron transition.Compared with intrinsic 2D GaSe,the static dielectric constant of the doped 2D GaSe increases,and the polarization ability is strengthened.The ab-sorption spectrum of the doped 2D GaSe shifts in the low-energy direction,and the red-shift phenomenon occurs,which extends the absorption spectral range.The optical reflection coefficient of the doped 2D GaSe is improved in the low energy region,and the improvement of Eu-doped 2D GaSe is the most obvious.

Edge induced band bending in van der Waals heterojunctions:A first principle study

The dangling bond free nature of two-dimensional(2D)material surface/interface makes van der Waals(vdW)heterostructure attractive for novel electronic and optoelectronic applications.But in practice,edge is unavoidable and could cause band bending at 2D material edge analog to surface/interface band bending in conventional three-dimensional(3D)materials.Here,we report a first principle simulation on edge band bending of free standing MoS2/WS2 vdW heterojunction.Due to the imbalance charges at edge,S terminated edge causes upward band bending while Mo/W terminated induces downward bending in undoped case.The edge band bending is comparable to band gap and could obviously harm electronic and optoelectronic properties.We also investigate the edge band bending of electrostatic doped heterojunction.N doping raises the edge band whereas p doping causes a decline of edge band.Heavy n doping even reverses the downward edge band bending at Mo/W terminated edge.In contrast,heavy p doping doesn’t invert the upward bending to downward.Comparing with former experiments,the expected band gap narrowing introduced by interlayer potential gradient at edge is not observed in our free-standing structures and suggests substrate’s important role in this imbalance charge induced phenomenon.

Electronic and Optical Properties of KNbO_3,NaNbO_3 and K_(0.5) Na_(0.5) NbO_3 in Paraelectric Cubic Phase:a Comparative First-principles Study

The structural,electronic and optical properties of KNbO 3 （KN）,NaNbO3（NN）and K05 Na0.5NbO3（KNN） in paraelectric cubic phase were calculated employing the plane-wave pseudopotential method based on density functional theory （DFT）.The calculated electronic structures of the three crystals show similar features in the valence bands and the lower conduction bands.However,the structures in higher conduction bands differ markedly due to the effect of Na and K atoms.The calculated optical properties reveal that the features of optical spectrum at low energy are dominated by the transitions from O2p valence bands to Nb 4d conduction bands and those at high energy are related to the transitions to K 4s4p and/or Na 3s3p states.Moreover,the optical constants of KNN are approximately the average of KN and NN at high energy.Therefore,the optical properties of KNN in high energy region can probably be altered by changing the ratio of Na/K.

Band structure,Fermi surface,elastic,thermodynamic,and optical properties of AlZr3,AlCu3,and AlCu2Zr:First-principles study

The electronic properties（Fermi surface,band structure,and density of states（DOS）） of Al-based alloys AlM3（M=Zr and Cu） and AlCu2Zr are investigated using the first-principles pseudopotential plane wave method within the generalized gradient approximation（GGA）.The structural parameters and elastic constants are evaluated and compared with other available data.Also,the pressure dependences of mechanical properties of the compounds are studied.The temperature dependence of adiabatic bulk modulus,Debye temperature,specific heat,thermal expansion coefficient,entropy,and internal energy are all obtained for the first time through quasi-harmonic Debye model with phononic effects for T = 0 K-100 K.The parameters of optical properties（dielectric functions,refractive index,extinction coefficient,absorption spectrum,conductivity,energy-loss spectrum,and reflectivity） of the compounds are calculated and discussed for the first time.The reflectivities of the materials are quite high in the IR-visible-UV region up to ~ 15 eV,showing that they promise to be good coating materials to avoid solar heating.Some of the properties are also compared with those of the Al-based Ni3 Al compound.

First-principle study of puckered arsenene MOSFET

Two-dimensional material has been regarded as a competitive silicon-alternative with a gate length approaching sub-10 nm,due to its unique atomic thickness and outstanding electronic properties.Herein,we provide a comprehensively study on the electronic and ballistic transport properties of the puckered arsenene by the density functional theory coupled with nonequilibrium Green’s function formalism.The puckered arsenene exhibits an anisotropic characteristic,as effective mass for the electron/hole in the armchair and zigzag directions is 0.35/0.16 m0 and 1.26/0.32 m0.And it also holds a high electron mobility,as the highest value can reach 20045 cm2V–1s–1.Moreover,the puckered arsenene FETs with a 10-nm channel length possess high on/off ratio above 105 and a steep subthreshold swing below 75 mV/dec,which have the potential to design high-performance electronic devices.Interestingly,the channel length limit for arsenene FETs can reach 7-nm.Furthermore,the benchmarking of the intrinsic arsenene FETs and the 32-bit arithmetic logic unit circuits also shows that the devices possess high switching speed and low energy dissipation,which can be comparable to the CMOS technologies and other CMOS alternatives.Therefore,the puckered arsenene is an attractive channel material in next-generation electronics.

First principle study of the electronic structure of hafnium-doped anatase TiO_2

Crystal structures and electronic structures of hafnium doping anatase TiO2 were calculated by first principles with the plane-wave ultrasoft pseudopotential method based on the density functional theory within the generalized gradient approximation. The calculated results show that the lattice parameters a and c of Hf-doped anatase TiO2 are larger than those of intrinsic TiO2 under the same calculated condition. The calculated band structure and density of states show that the conduction band width of Hf-doped TiO2 is broadened which results in the band gap of Hf-doped being smaller than the band gap of TiO2.