Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-28-2018
Publication Title
Physical Review B
Volume
98
Issue
21
First page number:
1
Last page number:
8
Abstract
Using an ab initio evolutionary structure prediction method in conjunction with density functional theory, we performed a systematic investigation of the structural transition of elemental scandium under pressure up to 250 GPa. Our prediction successfully reproduced several allotropes which have been reported in the literature, including the Sc-I, Sc-II, and Sc-V. Moreover, we observed a series of energetically degenerate and geometrically similar structures at 110–195 GPa, which can partly explain the experimental observations regarding the unsolved phases III and IV reported by Y. Akahama et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 195503 (2005)]. A detailed comparison of the powder x-ray diffraction pattern suggested that the Ccca−20 phase is a likely candidate for the observed Sc-III, while Sc-IV may be explained by a structure with random stacking of two different structural units. We also used the candidate Sc-III structure as the model system to explore its superconducting behavior under pressures between 80 and 130 GPa. The predicted superconducting transition temperature Tcvalues are in satisfactory agreement with previous experimental results.
Disciplines
Physics
File Format
File Size
2.933 Kb
Language
English
Repository Citation
Zhu, S.,
Yan, X.,
Fredericks, S.,
Li, Y.,
Zhu, Q.
(2018).
First-principles Investigation of Sc-III/IV under High Pressure.
Physical Review B, 98(21),
1-8.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.98.214116