First-principles calculations of phase transition, elasticity, and thermodynamic properties for TiZr alloy

tructural transformation, pressure dependent elasticity behaviors, phonon, and thermodynamic properties of the equiatomic TiZr alloy are investigated by using first-principles density-functional theory. Our calculated lattice parameters and equation of state for $\alpha$ and $\omega$ phases as well as the phase transition sequence of $\alpha$$\mathtt{\rightarrow}$$\omega$$\mathtt{\rightarrow}$$\beta$ are consistent well with experiments. Elastic constants of $\alpha$ and $\omega$ phases indicate that they are mechanically stable. For cubic $\beta$ phase, however, it is mechanically unstable at zero pressure and the critical pressure for its mechanical stability is predicted to equal to 2.19 GPa. We find that the moduli, elastic sound velocities, and Debye temperature all increase with pressure for three phases of TiZr alloy. The relatively large $B/G$ values illustrate that the TiZr alloy is rather ductile and its ductility is more predominant than that of element Zr, especially in $\beta$ phase. Elastic wave velocities and Debye temperature have abrupt increase behaviors upon the $\alpha$$\mathtt{\rightarrow}$$\omega$ transition at around 10 GPa and exhibit abrupt decrease feature upon the $\omega$$\mathtt{\rightarrow}$$\beta$ transition at higher pressure. Through Mulliken population analysis, we illustrate that the increase of the \emph{d}-band occupancy will stabilize the cubic $\beta$ phase. Phonon dispersions for three phases of TiZr alloy are firstly presented and the $\beta$ phase phonons clearly indicate its dynamically unstable nature under ambient condition. Thermodynamics of Gibbs free energy, entropy, and heat capacity are obtained by quasiharmonic approximation and Debye model.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figure

Ground state properties and high pressure behavior of plutonium dioxide: Systematic density functional calculations

Plutonium dioxide is of high technological importance in nuclear fuel cycle and is particularly crucial in long-term storage of Pu-based radioactive waste. Using first-principles density-functional theory, in this paper we systematically study the structural, electronic, mechanical, thermodynamic properties, and pressure induced structural transition of PuO$_{2}$. To properly describe the strong correlation in the Pu $5f$ electrons, the local density approximation$+U$ and the generalized gradient approximation$+U$ theoretical formalisms have been employed. We optimize the $U$ parameter in calculating the total energy, lattice parameters, and bulk modulus at the nonmagnetic, ferromagnetic, and antiferromagnetic configurations for both ground state fluorite structure and high pressure cotunnite structure. The best agreement with experiments is obtained by tuning the effective Hubbard parameter $U$ at around 4 eV within the LDA$+U$ approach. After carefully testing the validity of the ground state, we further investigate the bonding nature, elastic constants, various moduli, Debye temperature, hardness, ideal tensile strength, and phonon dispersion for fluorite PuO$_{2}$. Some thermodynamic properties, e.g., the Gibbs free energy, volume thermal expansion, and specific heat, are also calculated. As for cotunnite phase, besides the elastic constants, various moduli, and Debye temperature at 0 GPa, we have further presented our calculated electronic, structural, and magnetic properties for PuO$_{2}$ under pressure up to 280 GPa. A metallic transition at around 133 GPa and an isostructural transition in pressure range of 75-133 GPa are predicted.Comment: 14 PRB pages, 15 figure

Ideal strengths and bonding properties of PuO2 under tension

We perform a first-principles computational tensile test on PuO$_{2}$ based on density-functional theory within local density approximation (LDA)+\emph{U} formalism to investigate its structural, mechanical, magnetic, and intrinsic bonding properties in the four representative directions: [001], [100], [110], and [111]. The stress-strain relations show that the ideal tensile strengths in the four directions are 81.2, 80.5, 28.3, and 16.8 GPa at strains of 0.36, 0.36, 0.22, and 0.18, respectively. The [001] and [100] directions are prominently stronger than other two directions since that more Pu$-$O bonds participate in the pulling process. Through charge and density of states analysis along the [001] direction, we find that the strong mixed ionic/covalent character of Pu$-$O bond is weakened by tensile strain and PuO$_{2}$ will exhibit an insulator-to-metal transition after tensile stress exceeds about 79 GPa.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure

Electronic, mechanical, and thermodynamic properties of americium dioxide

By performing density functional theory (DFT) +$U$ calculations, we systematically study the electronic, mechanical, tensile, and thermodynamic properties of AmO$_{2}$. The experimentally observed antiferromagnetic insulating feature [J. Chem. Phys. 63, 3174 (1975)] is successfully reproduced. It is found that the chemical bonding character in AmO$_{2}$ is similar to that in PuO$_{2}$, with smaller charge transfer and stronger covalent interactions between americium and oxygen atoms. The valence band maximum and conduction band minimum are contributed by 2$p-5f$ hybridized and 5$f$ electronic states respectively. The elastic constants and various moduli are calculated, which show that AmO$_{2}$ is less stable against shear forces than PuO$_{2}$. The stress-strain relationship of AmO$_{2}$ is examined along the three low-index directions by employing the first-principles computational tensile test method. It is found that similar to PuO$_{2}$, the [100] and [111] directions are the strongest and weakest tensile directions, respectively, but the theoretical tensile strengths of AmO$_{2}$ are smaller than those of PuO$_{2}$. The phonon dispersion curves of AmO$_{2}$ are calculated and the heat capacities as well as lattice expansion curve are subsequently determined. The lattice thermal conductance of AmO$_{2}$ is further evaluated and compared with attainable experiments. Our present work integrally reveals various physical properties of AmO$_{2}$ and can be referenced for technological applications of AmO$_{2}$ based materials.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figure

A convenient tandem one-pot synthesis of donor-acceptor-type triphenylene 2,3-dicarboxylic esters from diarylacetylene

A tandem one-pot method for the direct synthesis of polysubstituted triphenylene 2,3-dicarboxylic esters with different substitution patterns was developed by enyne metathesis of diarylacetylene, followed by Diels–Alder, aromatization and a cyclization cascade