230 research outputs found
Temperature dependence of the diffuse scattering fine structure in equiatomic CuAu
The temperature dependence of the diffuse scattering fine structure from
disordered equiatomic CuAu was studied using {\it in situ} x-ray scattering. In
contrast to CuAu the diffuse peak splitting in CuAu was found to be
relatively insensitive to temperature. Consequently, no evidence for a
divergence of the antiphase length-scale at the transition temperature was
found. At all temperatures studied the peak splitting is smaller than the value
corresponding to the CuAuII modulated phase. An extended Ginzburg-Landau
approach is used to explain the temperature dependence of the diffuse peak
profiles in the ordering and modulation directions. The estimated mean-field
instability point is considerably lower than is the case for CuAu.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Point-charge electrostatics in disordered alloys
A simple analytic model of point-ion electrostatics has been previously
proposed in which the magnitude of the net charge q_i on each atom in an
ordered or random alloy depends linearly on the number N_i^(1) of unlike
neighbors in its first coordination shell. Point charges extracted from recent
large supercell (256-432 atom) local density approximation (LDA) calculations
of Cu-Zn random alloys now enable an assessment of the physical validity and
accuracy of the simple model. We find that this model accurately describes (i)
the trends in q_i vs. N_i^(1), particularly for fcc alloys, (ii) the magnitudes
of total electrostatic energies in random alloys, (iii) the relationships
between constant-occupation-averaged charges and Coulomb shifts
(i.e., the average over all sites occupied by either or atoms) in the
random alloy, and (iv) the linear relation between the site charge q_i and the
constant- charge-averaged Coulomb shift (i.e., the average over all sites with
the same charge) for fcc alloys. However, for bcc alloys the fluctuations
predicted by the model in the q_i vs. V_i relation exceed those found in the
LDA supercell calculations. We find that (a) the fluctuations present in the
model have a vanishing contribution to the electrostatic energy. (b)
Generalizing the model to include a dependence of the charge on the atoms in
the first three (two) shells in bcc (fcc) - rather than the first shell only -
removes the fluctuations, in complete agreement with the LDA data. We also
demonstrate an efficient way to extract charge transfer parameters of the
generalized model from LDA calculations on small unit cells.Comment: 15 pages, ReVTeX galley format, 7 eps figures embedded using psfig,
to be published in Phys. Rev.
Self-driven lattice-model Monte Carlo simulations of alloy thermodynamic
Monte Carlo (MC) simulations of lattice models are a widely used way to
compute thermodynamic properties of substitutional alloys. A limitation to
their more widespread use is the difficulty of driving a MC simulation in order
to obtain the desired quantities. To address this problem, we have devised a
variety of high-level algorithms that serve as an interface between the user
and a traditional MC code. The user specifies the goals sought in a high-level
form that our algorithms convert into elementary tasks to be performed by a
standard MC code. For instance, our algorithms permit the determination of the
free energy of an alloy phase over its entire region of stability within a
specified accuracy, without requiring any user intervention during the
calculations. Our algorithms also enable the direct determination of
composition-temperature phase boundaries without requiring the calculation of
the whole free energy surface of the alloy system
Calculation of solubility in titanium alloys from first-principles
We present an approach to calculate the atomic bulk solubility in binary
alloys based on the statistical-thermodynamic theory of dilute lattice gas. The
model considers all the appropriate ground states of the alloy and results in a
simple Arrhenius-type temperature dependence determined by a {\it
"low-solubility formation enthalpy"}. This quantity, directly obtainable from
first-principle calculations, is defined as the composition derivative of the
compound formation enthalpy with respect to nearby ground states. We apply the
framework and calculate the solubility of the A specie in A-Ti alloys
(A=Ag,Au,Cd,Co,Cr,Ir,W,Zn). In addition to determining unknown low-temperature
ground states for the eight alloys, we find qualitative agreements with
solubility experimental results. The presented formalism, correct in the
low-solubility limit, should be considered as an appropriate starting point for
determining if more computationally expensive formalisms are otherwise needed.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figure
Screened Coulomb interactions in metallic alloys: I. Universal screening in the atomic sphere approximation
We have used the locally self-consistent Green's function (LSGF) method in
supercell calculations to establish the distribution of the net charges
assigned to the atomic spheres of the alloy components in metallic alloys with
different compositions and degrees of order. This allows us to determine the
Madelung potential energy of a random alloy in the single-site mean field
approximation which makes the conventional single-site density-functional-
theory coherent potential approximation (SS-DFT-CPA) method practically
identical to the supercell LSGF method with a single-site local interaction
zone that yields an exact solution of the DFT problem. We demonstrate that the
basic mechanism which governs the charge distribution is the screening of the
net charges of the alloy components that makes the direct Coulomb interactions
short-ranged. In the atomic sphere approximation, this screening appears to be
almost independent of the alloy composition, lattice spacing, and crystal
structure. A formalism which allows a consistent treatment of the screened
Coulomb interactions within the single-site mean-filed approximation is
outlined. We also derive the contribution of the screened Coulomb interactions
to the S2 formalism and the generalized perturbation method.Comment: 28 pages, 8 figure
First principles calculations and experiments for Cu-Mg/Li hydrides negative electrodes
We have studied CuLi0.08Mg1.92 and determined that the compound reacts with hydrogen to form CuLi0.08Mg 1.92H5 [1]. Additionally, we have proposed the compound as a negative electrode material which is the main purpose of the present study. Moreover, we have observed that the latter compound acts as a catalyst in the formation of MgH2, LiH, TiH2 [2] and hydrogen desorption. In this work, first principles and phonon calculations were performed in order to establish the reactions occurring at the negative electrode of a Li conversion battery in presence of CuLi0.08Mg1.92H 5 and (Li) - solid solution of Mg in Li - Approximately Li 2Mg3. We have calculated the minimum theoretical specific capacity to be 1156 mAh/g (for an anode with 100% of CuLi0.08Mg 1.92H5) and the Eeq = 0.81 V (vs. Li+/Li) at 298 K. Furthermore, we have determined all the reactions occurring in the referred system and its sequence using Inelastic Incoherent Neutron Scattering (TINS) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). (c) 2013 Materials Research Society
Screened Coulomb interactions in metallic alloys: II Screening beyond the single-site and atomic sphere approximations
A quantitative description of the configurational part of the total energy of
metallic alloys with substantial atomic size difference cannot be achieved in
the atomic sphere approximation: It needs to be corrected at least for the
multipole moment interactions in the Madelung part of the one-electron
potential and energy. In the case of a random alloy such interactions can be
accounted for only by lifting the atomic sphere and single-site approximations,
in order to include the polarization due to local environment effects.
Nevertheless a simple parameterization of the screened Coulomb interactions for
the ordinary single-site methods, including the generalized perturbation
method, is still possible. We obtained such a parameterization for bulk and
surface NiPt alloys, which allows one to obtain quantitatively accurate
effective interactions in this system.Comment: 24 pages, 2 figure
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