Transformation of long-period stacking ordered structures in Mg-Gd-Y-Zn alloys upon synergistic characterization of first-principles calculation and experiment and its effects on mechanical properties

Based on experiments and first-principles calculations,the microstructures and mechanical properties of as-cast and solution treated Mg-10Gd-4Y-xZn-0.6Zr(x=0,1,2,wt.%)alloys are investigated.The transformation process of long-period stacking ordered(LPSO)structure during solidification and heat treatment and its effect on the mechanical properties of experimental alloys are discussed.Results reveal that the stacking faults and 18R LPSO phases appear in the as-cast Mg-10Gd-4Y-1Zn-0.6Zr and Mg-10Gd-4Y-2Zn-0.6Zr alloys,respectively.After solution treatment,the stacking faults and 18R LPSO phase transform into 14H LPSO phase.The Enthalpies of formation and reaction energy of 14H and 18R LPSO are calculated based on first-principles.Results show that the alloying ability of 18R is stronger than that of 14H.The reaction energies show that the 14H LPSO phase is more stable than the 18R LPSO.The elastic properties of the 14H and 18R LPSO phases are also evaluated by first-principles calculations,and the results are in good agreement with the experimental results.The precipitation of LPSO phase improves the tensile strength,yield strength and elongation of the alloy.After solution treatment,the Mg-10Gd-4Y-2Zn-0.6Zr alloy has the best mechanical properties,and its ultimate tensile strength and yield strength are 278.7 MPa and 196.4 MPa,respectively.The elongation of Mg-10Gd-4Y-2Zn-0.6Zr reaches 15.1,which is higher than that of Mg-10Gd-4Y0.6Zr alloy.The improving mechanism of elastic modulus by the LPSO phases and the influence on the alloy mechanical properties are also analyzed.

First-Principles Calculation of the Topological Nodal-Line Semimetal FeGe_(2)

The electronic and topological properties of FeGe2 with a tetragonal crystal structure were investigated via first-principles calculations.The results demonstrate that FeGe2 in this structure exhibits anti-ferromagnetism,with two bands crossing the Fermi level nesting each other at high-symmetry points in the Brillouin zone,forming a nodal ring where the nodes intersect in momentum space.Additionally,it possesses nontrivial topological surface states.Upon inclusion of SOC(spin-orbit coupling),there are no significant changes observed in the band structure,nodal features,or surface states,indicating the persistence of its topological nodal-line characteristics.

Alloying Effect Study on Thermodynamic Stability of MgH2 by First-principles Calculation

First-principles calculations based on density functional theory were performed to study the effect of alloying on the thermodynamic stability of MgH2 hydride （rutile and fluorite structures） with transitional metals （TM=Sc, Ti, Y） and group IIA elements （M=Ca, Sr, Ba）. The results indicate that fluorite structure of these hydrides are more stable than its relative rutile structure at low alloying content （less 20%）, structural destabilization of MgH2 appears in the alloying cases of Ti, Sr and Ba respectively. The structure-transition point from rutile structure to fluorite structure is at around 20% for MgH2-TM, and about 40% for MgH2-M. The formation enthalpy of fluorite Mg0.5Ba0.52 is about 0.3 eV and higher than that of fluorite MgH2, indicating that its hydrogen-desorption temperature at atmospheric pressure will be much lower than that of pure MgH2. Good consistency between experimental and calculated data suggests that above-adopted method is useful to predict structural transition and properties of MgH2 based hydrides for hydrogen storage.

Comparative study of Mo2Ga2C with superconducting MAX phase Mo2GaC： First-principles calculations

The structural, electronic, optical and thermodynamic properties of Mo2Ga2C are investigated using density func- tional theory （DFT） within the generalized gradient approximation （GGA）. The optimized crystal structure is obtained and the lattice parameters are compared with available experimental data. The electronic density of states （DOS） is calculated and analyzed. The metallic behavior for the compound is confirmed and the value of DOS at Fermi level is 4.2 states per unit cell per eV. Technologically important optical parameters （e.g., dielectric function, refractive index, absorption coefficient, photo conductivity, reflectivity, and loss function） are calculated for the first time. The study of dielectric constant （ε1） indicates the Drude-like behavior. The absorption and conductivity spectra suggest that the compound is metallic. The reflectance spectrum shows that this compound has the potential to be used as a solar reflector. The thermodynamic properties such as the temperature and pressure dependent bulk modulus, Debye temperature, specific heats, and thermal expansion coefficient of Mo2Ga2C MAX phase are derived from the quasi-harmonic Debye model with phononic effect also for the first time. Analysis of Tc expression using available parameter values （DOS, Debye temperature, atomic mass, etc.） suggests that the compound is less likely to be superconductor.

First-principles calculations and experimental studies of Sn-Zn alloys as negative electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries

The physical characters and electrochemical properties of various phases in a Sn-Zn electrode, such as formation energy, plateau potential, specific capacity, as well as volume expansion, were calculated by the first-principles plane-wave pseudo-potential method based on the den- sity functional theory. Sn-Zn films were also deposited on copper foils by an electroless plating technique. The actual composition and chemical characters were explored by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, plasma atomic emission spectrometry （ICP）, and constant current charge/discharge measurements （CC）. The results show that separation phases with tin and zinc including a small quantity of Cu6Sn5 phase were obtained, the initial lithium insertion capacity of the Sn-Zn film was 661 mAh/g, and obvious potential pla- teaus of about 0.4 V and 0.7 V were displayed, which is in accordance with the results of theoretical calculations. The capacity of the Sn-Zn film decreased seriously with the increase of cycle number.

Mechanical properties of Mn-doped ZnO nanowires studied by first-principles calculations

First-principles calculations were performed to investigate the mechanical properties of ZnO nanowires and to study the doping and size effects. A series of strains were applied to ZnO nanowires in the axial direction and the elastic moduli of ZnO nanowires were obtained from the energy versus strain curves. Pure and Mn-doped ZnO nanowires with three different diameters （1.14, 1.43, and 1.74 nm） were studied. It is found that the elastic moduli of the ZnO nanowires are 146.5, 146.6, and 143.9 GPa, respectively, which are slightly larger than that of the bulk （140.1 GPa）, and they increase as the diameter decreases. The elastic moduli of the Mn-doped ZnO nanowires are 137.6, 141.8, and 141.0 GPa, which are slightly lower than those of the undoped ones by 6.1%, 3.3%, and 2.0%, respectively. The mechanisms of doping and size effect were discussed in terms of chemical bonding and geometry considerations.

Boron diffusion in bcc-Fe studied by first-principles calculations

The diffusion mechanism of boron in bcc-Fe has been studied by first-principles calculations. The diffusion coefficients of the interstitial mechanism, the B-monovacancy complex mechanism, and the B-divacancy complex mechanism have been calculated. The calculated diffusion coefficient of the interstitial mechanism is DO = 1.05 x l0-7 exp （-0.75 eV/kT） m2. s-1, while the diffusion coefficients of the B-monovacancy and the B-divacancy complex mechanisms are D1 =1.22 x 10-6fl exp （-2.27 eV/kT） mE. s-1 and D2 - 8.36 x 10-6 exp （-4.81 eV/kT） m2. s-l, re- spectively. The results indicate that the dominant diffusion mechanism in bcc-Fe is the interstitial mechanism through an octahedral interstitial site instead of the complex mechanism. The calculated diffusion coefficient is in accordance with the reported experiment results measured in Fe-3%Si-B alloy （bcc structure）. Since the non-equilibrium segregation of boron is based on the diffusion of the complexes as suggested by the theory, our calculation reasonably explains why the non-equilibrium segregation of boron is not observed in bcc-Fe in experiments.

Hydrogen storage of Mgi-xMxH2 （M--Ti, V, studied using first-principles calculations re）

In this work, the hydrogen storage properties of the Mg-based hydrides, i.e., Mgl-xMxH2 （M=Ti, V, Fe, 0≤ x ≤ 0.1）, are studied using the Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker （KKR） calculation with the coherent potential approximation （CPA） . In particular, the nature and concentrations of the alloying elements and their effects are studied. Moreover, the material＇s stability and hydrogen storage thermodynamic properties are discussed. In particular, we find that the stability and the temperature of desorption decrease without significantly affecting the storage capacities.

Phase equilibrium of Cd_(1-x)Zn_xS alloys studied by first-principles calculations and Monte Carlo simulations

The first-principles calculations based on density functional theory combined with cluster expansion techniques and Monte Carlo （MC） simulations were used to study the phase diagrams of both wurtzite （WZ） and zinc-blende （ZB） Cdl_xZnxS alloys. All formation energies are positive for WZ and ZB Cdl-xZnxS alloys, which means that the Cdl-xZnxS alloys are unstable and have a tendency to phase separation. For WZ and ZB Cdl_xZnxS alloys, the consolute temperatures are 655 K and 604 K, respectively, and they both have an asymmetric miscibility gap. We obtained the spatial distributions of Cd and Zn atoms in WZ and ZB Cd0.sZn0.sS alloys at different temperatures by MC simulations. We found that both WZ and ZB phases of Cdo.sZn0.sS alloy exhibit phase segregation of Cd and Zn atoms at low temperature, which is consistent with the phase diagrams.

First-principles calculation of structural and elastic properties of Pd_(3-x)Rh_xV alloys

The structural stability, electronic and elastic properties of Pd3-xRhxV alloys with L12 and D022 structures were investigated theoretically by the first-principles calculations. The results reveal that with the increase of Rh content, the unit cell volume of Pd3-xRhxV alloys with L12 and D022 structures decreases, and the structure of Pd3-xRhxV alloys tends to transform from D022 to L12. The elastic parameters such as elastic constants, bulk modulus, shear modulus, elastic modulus, and Poisson ratio, were calculated and discussed in details. Electronic structures were also computed to reveal the underlying mechanism for the stability and elastic properties.

First-principles study on stability and superconductivity of ternary hydride LaYH_(x)(x=2,3,6 and 8)

Recent studies have shown that the La-and Y-hydrides can exhibit significant superconducting properties under high pressures.In this paper,we investigate the stability,electronic and superconducting properties of LaYH_(x)(x=2,3,6 and 8)under 0-200 GPa.It is found that LaYH_(2) stabilizes in the C2/m phase at ambient pressure,and transforms to the Pmmn phase at 67 GPa.LaYH_(3) stabilizes in the C2/m phase at ambient pressure,and undergoes phase transitions of C2/m→P2_(1)/m→R3m at 12 GPa and 87 GPa,respectively.LaYH_(6) stabilizes in the P4_32_12 phase at ambient pressure,and undergoes phase transitions of P4_(3)2_(1)2→P4/mmm→Cmcm at 28 GPa and 79 GPa,respectively.LaYH_(8) stabilizes in the Imma phase at 60 GPa and transforms to the P4/mmm phase at 117 GPa.Calculations of the electronic band structures show that the P4/mmm-LaYH_(8) and all phases of LaYH_(2) and LaYH_(3) exhibit metallic character.For the metallic phases,we then study their superconducting properties.The calculated superconducting transition temperatures(T_c)are 0.47 K for C2/m-LaYH_(2) at 0 GPa,0 K for C2/m-LaYH_(3) at 0 GPa,and 55.51 K for P4/mmm-LaYH_(8) at 50 GPa.

The growth ofβphase in Mg-Gd-Y-Ni alloy by experimental and first-principles study

The paper reports on the atomic investigation aboutβphase in Mg_(96)Gd_(2)Y_(1)Ni_(1) alloy by using the first-principles study and the high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscope(HAADF-STEM)corrected by atomic Cs.By using HAADF-STEM,the rectangularβphases were observed in the underage and peak aging stages in Mg_(96)Gd_(2)Y_(1)Ni_(1) alloy.Theβphase could be precipitated from the previously precipitatedβphase,and theβphase grew in steps when it was precipitated.A special transition structure of three atomic layer thicknesses was first observed at the edge of theβphase and the structure of this interface is probably as theβ/Mg_(1) interface for the analysis of thermodynamic characterization and electronic characterization.Theβ'phase and theβ_(H) structure were precipitated only at the edge of the length directions of theβphase.Theβ'phase continues to grow into aβphase directly without the formation ofβ_(1) phase,resulting in an increase in the length of theβphase,which is discovered for the first time.

First-principles study on the diffusion behavior of Cs and I in Cr coating

Cs and I can migrate through fuel-cladding interfaces and accelerate the cladding corrosion process induced by the fuel-cladding chemical interaction.Cr coating has emerged as an important candidate for mitigating this chemical interaction.In this study,first-principles calculations were employed to investigate the diffusion behavior of Cs and I in the Cr bulk and grain boundaries to reveal the microscopic interaction mitigation mechanisms at the fuel-cladding interface.The interaction between these two fission products and the Cr coating were studied systematically,and the Cs and I temperature-dependent diffusion coefficients in Cr were obtained using Bocquet’s oversized solute-atom model and Le Claire’s nine-frequency model,respectively.The results showed that the Cs and I migration barriers were significantly lower than that of Cr,and the Cs and I diffusion coefficients were more than three orders of magnitude larger than the Cr self-diffusion coefficient within the temperature range of Generation-IV fast reactors(below 1000 K),demonstrating the strong penetration ability of Cs and I.Furthermore,Cs and I are more likely to diffuse along the grain boundary because of the generally low migration barriers,indicating that the grain boundary serves as a fast diffusion channel for Cs and I.

First-Principles Study of the New Layered Ternary Metal Telluride,Eu_(2)InTe_(5)

In this study,we performed first-principles calculations using the VASP(Vienna Ab initio Simulation)software package to investigate the crystal structure,electronic structure,and optical properties of a new layered ternary metal chalcogenide,Eu_(2)InTe_(5).Our results show that Eu_(2)InTe_(5) is a non-zero-gap metal with a layered structure characterized by strong intra-layer atomic bonding and weak inter-layer interaction,which suggests its potential application as a nanomaterial.We also studied the optical properties,including the absorption coefficient,imaginary and real parts of the complex dielectric constant,and found that Eu_(2)InTe_(5) exhibits strong photoresponse characteristics at the junction of ultraviolet and visible light as well as blue-green light,with peaks at wavelengths of 389 nm and 477 nm.This suggests that it could be used in the development of UV(ultraviolet)detectors and other optoelectronic devices.Furthermore,due to its strong absorption,low loss,and low reflectivity,Eu_(2)InTe_(5) has the potential to be used as a promising photovoltaic absorption layer in solar cells.

First-principles calculations of structural,elastic and electronic properties of AB_(2)type intermetallics in Mg–Zn–Ca–Cu alloy

Electronic structure and elastic properties of MgCu_(2),Mg_(2)Ca and MgZn_(2)phases were investigated by means of first-principles calculations from CASTEP program based on density functional theory(DFT).The calculated lattice parameters were in good agreement with the experimental and literature values.The calculated heats of formation and cohesive energies shown that MgCu_(2)has the strongest alloying ability and structural stability.The elastic constants of MgCu_(2),Mg_(2)Ca and MgZn_(2)phases were calculated,the bulk moduli,shear moduli,Young's moduli and Poisson's ratio were derived.The calculated results shown that MgCu_(2),Mg_(2)Ca and MgZn_(2)are all ductile phases.Among the three phases,MgCu_(2)has the strongest stiffness and the plasticity of MgZn_(2)phase is the best.The density of states(DOS),Mulliken electron occupation number and charge density difference of MgCu_(2),Mg_(2)Ca and MgZn_(2)phases were discussed to analyze the mechanism of structural stability and mechanical properties.

First-principles calculations of structural,elastic and electronic properties of(TaNb)0.67(HfZrTi)0.33 high-entropy alloy under high pressure

To clarify the effect of pressure on a(TaNb)0.67(HfZrTi)0.33 alloy composed of a solid solution with a single body-centered-cubic crystal structure,we used first-principles calculations to theoretically investigate the structural,elastic,and electronic properties of this alloy at different pressures.The results show that the calculated equilibrium lattice parameters are consistent with the experimental results,and that the normalized structural parameters of lattice constants and volume decrease whereas the total enthalpy differenceΔE and elastic constants increase with increasing pressure.The(TaNb)0.67(HfZrTi)0.33 alloy exhibits mechanical stability at high pressures lower than 400 GPa.At high pressure,the bulk modulus B shows larger values than the shear modulus G,and the alloy exhibits an obvious anisotropic feature at pressures ranging from 30 to 70 GPa.Our analysis of the electronic structures reveals that the atomic orbitals are occupied by the electrons change due to the compression of the crystal lattices under the effect of high pressure,which results in a decrease in the total density of states and a wider electron energy level.This factor is favorable for zero resistance.

Electronic and optical properties of anion-doped c-ZrO_2 from first-principles calculations

Using the first-principles calculations based on density functional theory(DFT),the structure stability,electronic and some optical properties of C and N doped cubic ZrO2(c-ZrO2) in 24-atom systems were investigated.It is found from the formation energies calculations that N ions are easier to be doped into c-ZrO2 than C ions.The electronic structure results show that Zr8O15C and Zr8O15N systems are semiconductors with the band gap of 2.3 eV and 2.8 eV,respectively,which are lower than that of the pure ZrO2(3.349 eV).And optical properties results depict that anion doping,especially C adding,can enhance the static dielectric function,visible and ultraviolet light absorption and reflecting ability of c-ZrO2 crystal.

Dissociations of O_2 molecules on ultrathin Pb(111) films:first-principles plane wave calculations

Using first-principles calculations, we systematically study the dissociations of 02 molecules on different ultrathin Pb（lll） films. According to our previous work revealing the molecular adsorption precursor states for O2, we further explore why there are two nearly degenerate adsorption states on Pb（lll） ultrathin films, but no precursor adsorption states existing at all on Mg（0001） and Al（lll） surfaces. The reason is concluded to be the different surface electronic structures. For the O2 dissociation, we consider both the reaction channels from gas-like and molecularly adsorbed O2 molecules. We find that the energy barrier for O2 dissociation from the molecular adsorption precursor states is always smaller than that from O2 gas. The most energetically favorable dissociation process is found to be the same on different Pb（lll） fihns, and the energy barriers are found to be influenced by the quantum size effects of Pb（lll） films.

A Comparative Study of Elastic Constants of NiTi and NiAl Alloys from First-Principle Calculations

To investigate the origin of the strong dependence of martensitic transformation temperature on composition, the elastic properties of high temperature B2 phases of both NiTi and NiAI were calculated by a first-principle method, the exact-muffin orbital method within coherent potential approximation. In the composition range of 50-56 at. pct Ni of NiTi and 60-70 at. pct Ni of NiAI in which martensitic transformation occurs, non-basalplane shear modulus c44 increases with increasing Ni content, while basal-plane shear modulus c＇ decreases. In the above composition ranges however the transformation temperature of NiAI increases with increasing Ni content while that of NiTi decreases from experimental observation. The softening of c＇ is experimentally observed only in NiAI, and the decrease of c＇ with increasing Ni content is responsible for the increase of transformation temperature. The result of the present work demonstrates that, besides c＇, c44 also influences the martensitic transformation of NiTi and plays quite important a role.

Mechanical, electronic, and thermodynamic properties of zirconium carbide from first-principles calculations

Mechanical, electronic, and thermodynamic properties of zirconium carbide have been systematically studied using the ab initio calculations. The calculated equilibrium lattice parameter, bulk modulus, and elastic constants are all well consistent with the experimental data. The electronic band structure indicates that the mixture of C 2p and Zr 4d and 4p orbitals around the Fermi level makes a large covalent contribution to the chemical bonds between the C and Zr atoms. The Bader charge analysis suggests that there are about 1.71 electrons transferred from each Zr atom to its nearest C atom. Therefore, the Zr-C bond displays a mixed ionic/covalent character. The calculated phonon dispersions of ZrC are stable, coinciding with the experimental measurement. A drastic expansion in the volume of ZrC is seen with increasing temperature, while the bulk modulus decreases linearly. Based on the calculated phonon dispersion curves and within the quasi-harmonic approximation, the temperature dependence of the heat capacities is obtained, which gives a good description compared with the available experimental data.