No Arabic abstract
First-principles calculations were performed to investigate the ferroelectric properties of barium titanate and bismuth ferrite, as well as phonon dispersion of BaTiO3, using density functional theory and density functional perturbation theory. Results show that the strong hybridization of Ti-O and Bi-O lead to the corresponding mechanisms for stabilizing the distorted structure. The spontaneous polarization of 59.4 mu C/cm2 and 27.6 mu C/cm2 were calculated for BiFeO3 and BaTiO3 respectively, using berry phase method within the modern theory of polarization. The stereochemical activity of Bi-6s long-pair, which was the driven mechanism for ferroelectricity in BiFeO3, was able to produce greater polarization than the Ti off-centring displacement in BaTiO3. New multiferroic perovskite type materials combined with these two ferroelectric instabilities were predicted to have a better ferromagnetic ordering in comparison with BiFeO3.
We investigate the temperature-pressure phase diagram of BaTiO_3 using a first-principles effective-Hamiltonian approach. We find that the zero-point motion of the ions affects the form of the phase diagram dramatically. Specifically, when the zero-point fluctuations are included in the calculations, all the polar (tetragonal, orthorhombic, and rhombohedral) phases of BaTiO_3 survive down to 0 K, while only the rhombohedral phase does otherwise. We provide a simple explanation for this behavior. Our results confirm the essential correctness of the phase diagram proposed by Ishidate et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 2397 (1997)).
The electronic structure and properties of PuO$_{2}$ and Pu$_{2}$O$_{3}$ have been studied from first principles by the all-electron projector-augmented-wave (PAW) method. The local density approximation (LDA)+$U$ and the generalized gradient approximation (GGA)+$U$ formalism have been used to account for the strong on-site Coulomb repulsion among the localized Pu $5f$ electrons. We discuss how the properties of PuO$_{2}$ and Pu$_{2}$O$_{3}$ are affected by the choice of $U$ as well as the choice of exchange-correlation potential. Also, oxidation reaction of Pu$_{2}$O$_{3}$, leading to formation of PuO$_{2}$, and its dependence on $U$ and exchange-correlation potential have been studied. Our results show that by choosing an appropriate $U$ it is promising to correctly and consistently describe structural, electronic, and thermodynamic properties of PuO$_{2}$ and Pu$_{2}$O$_{3}$, which enables it possible the modeling of redox process involving Pu-based materials.
Rare-earth nickelates R$^{3+}$Ni$^{3+}$O$_3$ (R=Lu-Pr, Y) show a striking metal-insulator transition in their bulk phase whose temperature can be tuned by the rare-earth radius. These compounds are also the parent phases of the newly identified infinite layer RNiO2 superconductors. Although intensive theoretical works have been devoted to understand the origin of the metal-insulator transition in the bulk, there have only been a few studies on the role of hole and electron doping by rare-earth substitutions in RNiO$_3$ materials. Using first-principles calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) we study the effect of hole and electron doping in a prototypical nickelate SmNiO3. We perform calculations without Hubbard-like U potential on Ni 3d levels but with a meta-GGA better amending self-interaction errors. We find that at low doping, polarons form with intermediate localized states in the band gap resulting in a semiconducting behavior. At larger doping, the intermediate states spread more and more in the band gap until they merge either with the valence (hole doping) or the conduction (electron doping) band, ultimately resulting in a metallic state at 25% of R cation substitution. These results are reminiscent of experimental data available in the literature and demonstrate that DFT simulations without any empirical parameter are qualified for studying doping effects in correlated oxides and to explore the mechanisms underlying the superconducting phase of rare-earth nickelates.
Recent experiments reported giant magnetoresistance at room temperature in LaOMnAs. Here a density functional theory calculation is performed to investigate magnetic properties of LaOMnAs. The ground state is found to be the G-type antiferromagnetic order within the $ab$ plane but coupled ferromagnetically between planes, in agreement with recent neutron investigations. The electronic band structures suggest an insulating state which is driven by the particular G-type magnetic order, while a metallic state accompanies the ferromagnetic order. This relation between magnetism and conductance may be helpful to qualitatively understand the giant magnetoresistance effects.
BaTiO3 is a classical ferroelectric studied for last one century for its ferroelectric properties. Lattice dynamics of BaTiO3 is crucial as the utility of devices is governed by phonons. In this work, we show that traditional characterization of the polar phonon modes is ambiguous and often misinterpreted. By combining Raman, Neutron and X-ray diffraction, dielectric spectroscopic observations with first principle calculations, we have re-examined the character of the normal modes of phonons of BaTiO3. We obtained Eigen displacements of vibrational modes through DFT calculations and reclassified the polar modes being Slater (Ti-O), Last (Ba-TiO3) and Axe (BO6) vibrations by correlating experimental and theoretical calculations. The study thus provides correct nomenclature of the polar modes along with the evidence of presence of short range polar distortions along (111) directions in all the phases shown by BaTiO3. The Burns temperature and absence of second order contributions have been witnessed in the temperature dependent Raman study.