Unexpected origin of magnetism in monoclinic Nb12O29 from first-principles calculations

Nb12O29 is a 4d transition metal oxide that occurs in two forms with different symmetries, monoclinic (m) and orthorhombic (o). The monoclinic form has unusual magnetic properties; below a temperature of 12 K, it exhibits both metallic conductivity and antiferromagnetic ordering. Here, first-principles density-functional theory calculations are...

Structural tale of two novel (Cr,Mn)C carbides in steel

Chromium (Cr), Manganese (Mn), and Carbon (C) are well known alloying elements used in technologically important alloy steels and advanced high strength steels. It is known that binary CrCx and MnCx carbides can be formed in steels, but in this study we reveal for the first time that Cr and Mn were found combined in novel ternary cementite type ...

Atomic Resolution Monitoring of Cation Exchange in CdSe-PbSe Heteronanocrystals during Epitaxial Solid?Solid?Vapor Growth

Here, we show a novel solid?solid?vapor (SSV) growth mechanism whereby epitaxial growth of heterogeneous semiconductor nanowires takes place by evaporation-induced cation exchange. During heating of PbSe-CdSe nanodumbbells inside a transmission electron microscope (TEM), we observed that PbSe nanocrystals grew epitaxially at the expense of CdSe...

Structural and magnetic properties of NiCx and NiNx (x=0 to 1/3) solid solutions from first-principles calculations

First-principles calculations have been performed for a variety of Ni3X (X = C, N) phases, as well as for NiXy (y = 0 to 1/3) solid solutions to clarify the persistent controversy regarding its magnetic state. The calculations show that the solid solution phases based on hexagonal-close-packed (hcp or ?-) Ni have relatively high stability for X...

Stability and crystal structures of iron carbides: A comparison between the semi-empirical modified embedded atom method and quantum-mechanical DFT calculations

Iron carbides play a crucial role in steel manufacturing and processing and to a large extent determine the physical properties of steel products. The modified embedded atom method (MEAM) in combination with Lee's Fe-C potential is a good candidate for molecular dynamics simulations on larger Fe-C systems. Here, we investigate the stability and...

Role of carbon and nitrogen in Fe2C and Fe2N from first-principles calculations

Although Fe2C and Fe2N are technologically important materials, the exact nature of the chemical bonding of C and N atoms and the related impact on the electronic properties are at present unclear. Here, results of first-principles electronic structure calculations for Fe2X (X = C, N) phases are presented. The electronic structure calculations...