First principles investigation on the structural, mechanical and electronic properties of OsC2

The structural, mechanical and electronic properties Of OsC2 were investigated by use of the density functional theory. Seven structures were considered, i.e., orthorhombic Cmca (No. 12, OsSi2), Pmmn (No. 59, 002) and Pnnm (No. 58, OsN2); tetragonal P4(2)/mnm (No. 136, OsO2) and 14/mmm (No. 139, CaC2); cubic Fm-3m (No. 225, CaF2) and Pa-3 (No. 205, PtN2). The results indicate that Cmca in OsSi2 type structure is energetically the most stable phase among the considered structures. It is also stable mechanically. OsC2 in Pmmn phase has the largest bulk modulus 319 GPa and shear modulus 194 GPa. The elastic anisotropy is discussed. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Chemical Bonding and Electronic Structure of 4d-Metal Monosulfides

Bond distances, vibrational frequencies, dissociation energies, electron affinities, ionization potentials and dipole moments of the title molecules in neutral and charged ions were studied by use of density functional method. Ground states for each molecule were assigned. The calculated bond distance decreases with the increasing of atomic number of 4d metals, reaches minimum at RhS, then increases. For cationic molecules, the calculated bond distance decreases to the minimum at MoS+, then increases. The calculated vibrational frequency decreases from YS(YS+) to PdS(PdS+) for both neutral and cationic molecules. The bond ionic character decreases from YS(YS+) to PdS(PdS+) for neutral and cationic molecules. The bonding patterns are discussed and compared with the available studies.

Elastic and electronic properties of CoFe3N, RhFe3N, and IrFe3N from first principles

First principles calculations are performed to investigate the elastic and electronic properties of MFe3N (M=Co,Rh,Ir) at Pm-3m space group. The authors' calculation indicates that the three MFe3N phases are metallic and mechanically stable. For RhFe3N, the calculated lattice parameter of 3.826 A is in excellent agreement with the experimental value of 3.8292 A. The three phases are ferromagnetic with the calculated magnetic moments per f.u. being 8.92 mu(B) for CoFe3N, 9.04 mu(B) for RhFe3N, and 8.50 mu(B) for IrFe3N. The unusually large B/G ratio from 2.47 for CoFe3N and 2.45 for RhFe3N to 1.81 for IrFe3N indicates that they are ductile.

Magnetic and electronic properties of CaCu3Cr4O12 and CaCu3Cr2Sb2O12 by first-principles density functional calculation

The electronic and magnetic properties of CaCu3Cr4O12 and CaCu3Cr2Sb2O12 are investigated by the use of the full-potential linearized augumented plane wave (FPLAPW) method. The calculated results indicate that CaCu3- Cr4O12 is a ferrimagnetic and half-metallic compound, in good agreement with previous theoretical studies. CaCu3- Cr2Sb2O12 is a ferrimagnetic semiconductor with a small gap of 0.136 eV. In both compounds, because Cr4+ 3d (d(2)) and Cr3+ 3d (d(3)) orbitals are less than half filled, the coupling between Cr-Cu is antiferromagnetic, whereas that between Cu-Cu and Cr-Cr is ferromagnetic. The total net spin moment is 5.0 and 3.0 mu(B) for CaCu3Cr4O12 and CaCu3Cr2Sb2O12, respectively. In CaCu3Cr4O12, the 3d electrons of Cr4+ are delocalized, which strengthens the Cr-Cr ferromagnetic coupling. For CaCu3Cr2Sb2O12, the doping of nonmagnetic ion Sb5+ reduces the Cr-Cr ferromagnetic coupling, and the half-filled Cr3+ t(2g) (t(2g)(3)) makes the chromium 3d electrons localized. In addition, the ordering arrangement of the octahedral chromium and antimony ions also prevents the delocalization of electrons. Hence, CaCu3Cr2Sb2O12 shows insulating behavior, in agreement with the experimental observation.

First-principles investigation on the elastic, magnetic and electronic properties of MFe3N (M = Fe, Ru, Os)

The elastic, magnetic and electronic properties of MFe3N (M = Fe, Ru, Os) are investigated via first-principles calculations. The calculated results are in agreement with the experimental and other theoretical data. The high ratios of bulk modulus to shear modulus 2.7, 2.0, and 1.8 for gamma'-Fe4N, RuFe3N, and OsFe3N, respectively, indicate that they have good ductility. gamma'-Fe4N possesses the largest B/C-44 (3.41) ratio, which suggests that it is much prone to shearing. The net magnetic moment per formula unit decreases from 9.90 for gamma'-Fe4N, 7.66 for RuFe3N, to 6.80 mu(B) for OsFe3N.

Trends in elasticity and electronic structure of 5d transition metal diborides: first-principles calculations

We investigate the cohesive energy, heat of formation, elastic constant and electronic band structure of transition metal diborides TMB2 (TM = Hf, Ta, W, Re, Os and Ir, Pt) in the Pmmn space group using the ab initio pseudopotential total energy method. Our calculations indicate that there is a relationship between elastic constant and valence electron concentration (VEC): the bulk modulus and shear modulus achieve their maximum when the VEC is in the range of 6.8-7.2. In addition, trends in the elastic constant are well explained in terms of electronic band structure analysis, e.g., occupation of valence electrons in states near the Fermi level, which determines the cohesive energy and elastic properties. The maximum in bulk modulus and shear modulus is attributed to the nearly complete filling of TM d-B p bonding states without filling the antibonding states. On the basis of the observed relationship, we predict that alloying W and Re in the orthorhombic structure OsB2 might be harder than alloying the Ir element. Indeed, the further calculations confirmed this expectation.

Structural stability and electronic state of transition metal trimers

Ground state geometries were searched for transition metal trimers Sc-3, Y-3, La-3, Lu-3, Ti-3, Zr-3, and Hf-3 by density functional methods. For all the studied trimers, our calculation indicates that the ground state geometries are either equilateral triangle (Zr-3 and Hf-3) or near equilateral triangle (Ti-3, Sc-3, Y-3, La-3, and Lu-3). For rare earth trimers Sc-3, Y-3, La-3, and Lu-3, isosceles triangle (near equilateral triangle) at quartet state is the ground state. Isosceles triangle at doublet state is the competitive candidate for the ground state. For Zr-3 and Hf-3, equilateral triangle at singlet state is the most stable. For Ti-3, isosceles triangle (near equilateral triangle) at quintet state gives the ground state. For Sc-3, Zr-3, and Hf-3, where experimental results are available, the predicted geometries are in agreement with experiment in which the ground state is equilateral triangle (Zr-3) or fluxional (Sc-3 and Hf-3). For Y-3, the calculated geometry is in agreement with experimental observation and previous theoretical study that Y-3 is a bent molecule for the ground state.

Influence of Mn-O-Mn bond angle on the magnetic and electronic properties in YBaMn2O5

The influence of the Mn-O-Mn bond angle on the magnetic and electronic properties of YBaMn2O5 was studied by density functional theory, which was implemented in the CASTEP code. In practical calculation, both G- and A-type antiferromagnetic (AFM) orderings were considered. The calculated results indicated that G-type is more stable than A-type, in agreement with both experiment and previous theoretical study. It is also interesting to note that a transition from G-type to A-type at an Mn-O-Mn angle of ca. 170 degrees was found upon increasing Mn-O-Mn angle. Therefore, the calculation suggested that what is essential to stabilize the G-type AFM state is the reduction of the Mn-O-Mn bond angle. For both magnetic orderings, the compound changes from semiconductor to metal with the increase of Mn-O-Mn angle.

Chemical bonding and electronic structure of 4d-metal monocarbides

Bond distances, vibrational frequencies, dissociation energies, electron affinities, ionization potentials and dipole moments of the title molecules in neutral and charged ions were studied by use of density functional method. Ground states for each molecule were assigned. For neutral and cationic molecules, the bond distance decreases from YC (YC+) to RhC (RhC+), then increases, while for anionic molecules, the bond distance decreases from YC- to RuC-, then increases. Opposite trend was observed for vibrational frequency. The bond ionic character decreases from ZrC to PdC for neutral molecules. The bonding patterns are discussed and compared with the available studies.

Geometries and electronic properties of Ta-n, TanO and TaOn (n=1-3) clusters

Geometries, vibrational frequencies, electron affinities, ionization potentials and dissociation energies of the title clusters in both neutral and positively and negatively charged states were studied by use of density functional theory. For both neutral and charged species, different initial isomers were studied in order to determine the structure with the lowest energy. Vibrational analysis was also performed in order to characterize these isomers. For Ta-2, Ta-Ta metallic bond is strengthened by adding or removing an electron, i.e. the charged species are much more stable than the neutral counterpart. For Ta-3, equilateral triangle with D-3h symmetry has the lowest energy for both neutral and charged species (near equilateral triangle for cation). TaO and its charged species have much larger dissociation energy compared with other tantalum oxides. For Ta2O and TaO2. structure with C-2v symmetry is much more stable than linear chains. For Ta3O, planar structure with doubly bridging oxygen atoms of C-2v, symmetry is the global minimum for both neutral and charged species. While for TaO3, three-dimensional structures are favored for both neutral (C-1 symmetry) and charged species (C-3v symmetry).

Geometries and electronic properties of AunPdm (n=1-4, m =-1, 0, 1) clusters

Possible conformers for AunPdm (n = 1-4, m = -1, 0, 1) clusters have been presented and studied by use of density functional theory. The results indicate that for n = 2, linear conformer with C-infinityv symmetry is the most stable for anion species, while for cation and neutral species, conformer with C-2v symmetry is the most stable. For n = 3, 4, conformers with C-2v symmetry (kite-shape) are energetically favored. The calculated electron affinities (EAs) and vertical detachment energies (VDEs) are in good agreement with experiments for n = 1-4. It is also interesting to note that for even n (n = 2, 4), the most stable conformers do not give the best agreement between calculated and experimental EA and VDE values, while for odd n (n = 3), the lowest energy conformer also gives the best agreement. The ionization potentials (IPs) of AunPd clusters are calculated as well.

Synthesis, extraction and electronic structure of Ce@C-2n

In view of the growing interest in endohedral lanthanide fullerenes, Ce, as a typical +4 oxidation state lanthanide element, has been systematically studied. The synthesis, extraction and electronic structure of Ce@C-2n are investigated. Soot containing Ce@C-2n was synthesized in high yield by carbonizing CeO2-containing graphite rods and are back-burning the CeC2-enriched cathode deposit in a DC are plasma apparatus. Ce@C-2n, dominated by Ce@C-82, can be efficiently extracted from the insoluble part of the soot after toluene Soxhlet extraction by pyridine at high temperature and high pressure in a closed vessel. About 60% Ce@C-2n (2n = 82,80,78,76) and 35% Ce@C-82 can be enriched in the pyridine extract. This fact is identified by desorption electron impact mass spectrometry (DEI MS). The electronic structure of Ce@C-2n is analyzed by using X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) of pyridine-free film. It is suggested that the encapsulated Ce atom is in a charge state close to +3 and was effectively protected from reaction with water and oxygen by the enclosing fullerene cage. Unlike theoretical expectation, the electronic state of Ce@C-82 is formally described as Ce+3@C-82(3-). (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.

In situ high temperature X-ray diffraction studies of mixed ionic and electronic conducting perovskite-type membranes

Phase structure and stability of three typical mixed ionic and electronic conducting perovskite-type membranes, SrCo0.8Fe0.2O3-delta (SCF), Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3-delta (BSCF) and BaCo0.4Fe0.4Zr0.2O3-delta (BCFZ) were studied by in situ high temperature X-ray diffraction at temperatures from 303 to 1273 K and under different atmospheres (air, 2% O-2 in Ar and pure Ar) at 1173 K. By analyzing their lattice parameters the thermal expansion coefficients (TECs) of BSCF, SCF and BCZF are obtained to be 11.5 x 10(-6) K-1, 17.9 x 10(-6) K-1 and 10.3 x 10(-6) K-1, respectively. A relationship between phase stability and TEC was proposed: the higher is the TEC, the lower is the operation stability of the perovskite materials. (C) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

ELECTRONIC-STRUCTURES OF THE ALKALI-CONTAINING BUCKMINSTERFULLERENES (A-DELTA-C60) (A=LI,NA,K,RB,CS) AND THE HALOGEN-CONTAINING BUCKMINSTERFULLERENES (H-DELTA-C60) (H=F,CL,BR,I)

The geometrical parameters and electronic structures of C60, (A partial derivative C60) (A = Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs) and (H partial derivative C60) (H = F, Cl, Br, I) have been calculated by the EHMO/ASED (atom superposition and electron delocalization) method. When putting a central atom into the C60 cage, the frontier and subfrontier orbitals of (A partial derivative C60) (A = Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs) and (H partial derivative C60) (H = F, Cl) relative to those of C60 undergo little change and thus, from the viewpoint of charge transfer, A (A = Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs) and H (H = F, Cl) are simply electron donors and acceptors for the C60 cage resPeCtively. Br is an electron acceptor but it does influence the frontier and subfrontier MOs for the C60 cage, and although there is no charge transfer between I and the C60 cage, the frontier and subfrontier MOs for the C60 cage are obviously influenced by I. The stabilities DELTAE(X) (DELTAE(X) = (E(X) + E(C60)) - E(x partial derivative C60)) follow the sequence I < Br < None < Cl < F < Li < Na < K < Rb < Cs while the cage radii r follow the inverse sequence. The stability order and the cage radii order have been explained by means of the (exp-6-1) potential.