scholarly journals Mechanical and Thermal Properties for Uranium and U–6Nb Alloy from First-Principles Theory

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 5643
Author(s):  
Per Söderlind ◽  
Lin H. Yang ◽  
Alexander Landa ◽  
Amanda Wu
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Expansion ◽  
Electronic Structure ◽  
Lattice Dynamics ◽  
Density Functional ◽  
Elastic Moduli ◽  
Inelastic Neutron Scattering ◽  
Negative Thermal Expansion ◽  
Lattice Parameter ◽  
Ductile Material ◽  
Mechanical And Thermal Properties

Elasticity, lattice dynamics, and thermal expansion for uranium and U–6Nb alloy (elastic moduli) are calculated from density functional theory that is extended to include orbital polarization (DFT+OP). Introducing 12.5 at.% of niobium, substitutionally, in uranium softens all the cii elastic moduli, resulting in a significantly softer shear modulus (G). Combined with a nearly invariant bulk modulus (B), the quotient B/G increases dramatically for U–6Nb, suggesting a more ductile material. Lattice dynamics from a harmonic model coupled with a DFT+OP electronic structure is applied for α uranium, and the obtained phonon density of states compares well with inelastic neutron-scattering measurements. The Debye temperature associated with the lattice dynamics falls within the range of experimentally observed Debye temperatures and it also validates our quasi-harmonic (QH) phonon model. The QH Debye–Grüneisen phonon method is combined with a DFT+OP electronic structure and used to explore the anisotropic thermal expansion in α uranium. The anomalous negative thermal expansion (contraction) of the b lattice parameter of the α-phase orthorhombic cell is relatively well reproduced from a free-energy model consisting of QH-phonon and DFT+OP electronic structure contributions.

scholarly journals Theoretical Study of Abnormal Thermal Expansion of CuSCN and Effect on Electronic Structure

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pengju Sun ◽  
Qilong Gao ◽  
Junzhe Liu ◽  
Erjun Liang ◽  
Qiang Sun
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Expansion ◽  
Electronic Structure ◽  
Density Functional ◽  
Perovskite Solar Cells ◽  
Harmonic Approximation ◽  
Negative Thermal Expansion ◽  
Direct Bandgap ◽  
Atomic Chains ◽  
Hole Transporting ◽  
Two Phases

CuSCN, as a new type of inorganic hole-transporting semiconductor with a wide bandgap (>3.4 eV), is attracting much attention in the fabrication of perovskite solar cells. In this article, by using first-principles density functional theory (DFT) and the quasi-harmonic approximation (QHA) approach, we have studied lattice dynamics and abnormal thermal expansion of the system, including α- and β-CuSCN phases. The influence of the abnormal thermal expansion of the lattice on the electronic structure, especially on the bandgap of the system, was explored and discussed. We found that due to the shearing modes and the three acoustic modes along the direction of the c-axis, the α- and β-CuSCN show a negative thermal expansion (NTE) in the direction of the c-axis. The torsion modes of the Cu–N–C–S atomic chains in the α-CuSCN may lead to an NTE in the directions of the a, b-axes of the α-phase. As a result, our theoretical results demonstrated that the α-CuSCN exhibits an anisotropic bulk NTE. While the β-CuSCN displays a strong uniaxial negative thermal expansion in the direction of the c-axis, in the directions of the a, b-axes, it exhibits positive thermal expansion. Our DFT calculations also predicted that the α-CuSCN has a direct bandgap, which increases slightly with increasing temperature. However, the β-CuSCN has an indirect bandgap at low temperature, which converts to a direct bandgap near the temperature of 375 K due to the strong positive expansion in the ab plane of the phase. Our work revealed the mechanisms of the abnormal thermal expansion of the two phases and a strong coupling between the anisotropic thermal expansion and the electronic structures of the system.

scholarly journals Study of Anharmonicity in Zirconium Hydrides Using Inelastic Neutron Scattering and Ab-Initio Computer Modeling

Inorganics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Jiayong Zhang ◽  
Yongqiang Cheng ◽  
Alexander I. Kolesnikov ◽  
Jerry Bernholc ◽  
Wenchang Lu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neutron Scattering ◽  
Excited States ◽  
Lattice Dynamics ◽  
Density Functional ◽  
Inelastic Neutron Scattering ◽  
Inelastic Neutron ◽  
Vibrational States ◽  
Functional Theory ◽  
Hydrogen Deuterium ◽  
Zirconium Hydrides

The anharmonic phonon behavior in zirconium hydrides and deuterides, including ϵ-ZrH2, γ-ZrH, and γ-ZrD, has been investigated from aspects of inelastic neutron scattering (INS) and lattice dynamics calculations within the framework of density functional theory (DFT). The harmonic model failed to reproduce the spectral features observed in the experimental data, indicating the existence of anharmonicity in those materials and the necessity of further explanations. Here, we present a detailed study on the anharmonicity in zirconium hydrides/deuterides by exploring the 2D potential energy surface of hydrogen/deuterium atoms and solving the corresponding 2D single-particle Schrödinger equation to obtain the eigenfrequencies, which are then convoluted with the instrument resolution. The convoluted INS spectra qualitatively describe the anharmonic peaks in the experimental INS spectra and demonstrate that the anharmonicity originates from the deviations of hydrogen potentials from quadratic behavior in certain directions; the effects are apparent for the higher-order excited vibrational states, but small for the ground and first excited states.

Theoretical study on the electronic structure, mechanical property, and thermal expansion of yttrium oxysulfide

2015 ◽  
Vol 04 (01) ◽  
pp. 1550004
Author(s):  
Ruipeng Gao ◽  
Yefei Li
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Property ◽  
Thermal Expansion ◽  
Electronic Structure ◽  
Bulk Modulus ◽  
Density Functional ◽  
Theoretical Study ◽  
Spherical Shape ◽  
Weak Anisotropy ◽  
Covalent Bonds ◽  
Very High

The electronic structure, mechanical property and thermal expansion of yttrium oxysulfide are calculated from first-principles using the theory of density functional. The calculated cohesive energy indicates its thermodynamic stable nature. From bond structure, the calculated bandgap is obtained as 2.7 eV; and strong covalent bonds exist between Y and O atoms intra 2D [ Y – O ] layer in material, while relatively weak covalent bonds also exist inter 2D [ Y – O ] layer and S atoms. From simulation, it is found that the bulk modulus is about 119.4 GPa for the elastic constants, and the bulk modulus shows weak anisotropy because the surface contours of them are close to a spherical shape. The calculated B/G clearly implies its ductile nature, and the Y 2 O 2 S phase can also be compressed easily. The temperature dependence of thermal expansions is mainly caused by the restoration of thermal energy due to lattice excitations at low temperature. When the temperature is very high, the thermal expansion coefficient increases linearly with temperature increasing. Meanwhile, the heat capacities are also calculated and discussed by thermal expansion and elasticity.

THEORETICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE ELASTIC PROPERTIES AND LATTICE DYNAMICS OF THE MgSxSe1-x ALLOY

2007 ◽  
Vol 21 (05) ◽  
pp. 249-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. BOUAMAMA ◽  
P. DJEMIA
Keyword(s):  
Elastic Properties ◽  
First Principles ◽  
Lattice Dynamics ◽  
Density Functional ◽  
Local Density ◽  
Lattice Parameter ◽  
First Principles Calculations ◽  
Virtual Crystal Approximation ◽  
Functional Theory ◽  
Density Functional Perturbation Theory

Structural and elastic properties as well as lattice dynamics of ternary MgS x Se 1-x alloy have been studied using first-principles calculations. These are done using density functional theory (DFT) and density functional perturbation theory (DFPT) within the local density approximation (LDA) and employing the virtual-crystal approximation (VCA). We found that the lattice parameter, the elastic constants and the phonon frequencies follow a quadratic law in x.

scholarly journals On the microscopic dynamics of the ‘Einstein solids’ AlV2Al20 and GaV2Al20, and of YV2Al20: a benchmark system for ‘rattling’ excitations

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (38) ◽  
pp. 24837-24850 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Marek Koza ◽  
Hannu Mutka ◽  
Yoshihiko Okamoto ◽  
Jun-ichi Yamaura ◽  
Zenji Hiroi
Keyword(s):  
Density Functional Theory ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Neutron Scattering ◽  
Lattice Dynamics ◽  
Density Functional ◽  
Inelastic Neutron Scattering ◽  
Inelastic Neutron ◽  
Functional Theory ◽  
Inelastic Response ◽  
Benchmark System

The inelastic response of AV2Al20 (with A = Al, Ga and Y) was probed by high-resolution inelastic neutron scattering experiments and density functional theory (DFT) based lattice dynamics calculations (LDC).

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