Alexander V. Bakulin

Theoretical study of adhesion at the metal-zirconium dioxide interfaces

The atomic and electronic structure of the interfaces between metals with body-centered cubic (bcc) and face-centered cubic (fcc) structures and zirconium dioxide is studied systematically using the ab initio methods of the electron density functional theory (DFT). It is shown that high adhesion properties can be attained at the nonstoichiometric polar Me(001)/ZrO2(001) interface with bcc metals from the middle of the 4d–5d periods (Mo, Ta, W, and Nb). Charge transfer from the metal to the oxide substrate ensures the strong ionic chemical bond on the metal-ceramic interfaces. The structural and electronic factors responsible for lowering of adhesion at differently oriented interfaces are analyzed. It is shown that a decrease of adhesion at the (110) nonpolar stoichiometric interface is due to an increase in the interfacial spacing as well as a decrease in the number of metal-oxygen bonds. The effect of doping with oxides (CaO, MgO, and Y2O3) stabilizing zirconium dioxide at low temperatures on the adhesion energy at the Me(001)/ZrO2(001) interface is analyzed.

Hydrogen sorption in titanium alloys with a symmetric Σ5(310) tilt grain boundary and a (310) surface

The hydrogen sorption in intermetallic B2 TiM (M = Ni, Co, Pd) with a symmetric Σ5(310) tilt grain boundary and a (310) surface is studied by density functional theory methods. The effect of hydrogen on the electronic characteristics of the alloys is analyzed as a function of a sorption position at the interfaces. The hydrogen sorption energy is shown to depend on the local environment of hydrogen; on the whole, hydrogen at the interfaces prefers titanium-rich positions. The hydrogen sorption energy in metal-rich positions decreases when the d shell of the second alloy component is filled with electrons. The grain-boundary energy, the surface energy, and the hydrogen segregation energies to the interfaces are calculated. Hydrogen sorption in titanium alloys is shown to decrease Griffith work and to favor brittle fracture along tilt grain boundaries.

Adsorption of halogen atom (F, Cl, I) on cation-rich GaAs(001) surface

Comparative theoretical study of halogen atom (F, Cl, I) adsorption on the cation-rich ζ-GaAs(001)-(4×2) surface was performed using projector augmented-wave (PAW) method within the density-functional theory (DFT). For all considered halogens, the energetically preferable adsorption positions are found on top sites above dimerized Ga atoms. The interaction of halogen adatom with the dimerized atoms leads to the weakening of the interfacial chemical bonds at the initial stage of surface etching. The electronic properties of the clean semiconductor surfaces and their change upon halogen adsorption are discussed.

Absorption and Diffusion of Oxygen in Ti-Al Bulk Alloys

The oxygen absorption and diffusion properties are studied in γ-TiAl and TiAl3 alloys within density functional theory using projector augmented wave method in the plane-wave basis. It is shown that the octahedral site inside the Ti-rich octahedron is preferable for oxygen in case of γ-TiAl alloy whereas the Al-rich octahedron is more favorable environment for oxygen in TiAl3. It is shown that the energy barriers for oxygen jumps between different sites in bulk alloys depend significantly on the local environments of oxygen and increase for its jump from Ti-rich sites. The trajectories with minimum energy barriers are determined for both Ti-Al alloys. It is shown that the increase of Al content in alloy leads to the decrease of barriers for oxygen jumps.

Ab initio investigation of tensile strengths of metal(1 1 1)/α-Al2O3(0 0 0 1) interfaces

Ab initio calculations using plane wave pseudopotential method within density funtional theory are applied to investigate mechanical and electronic properties of Al-terminated Me(1 1 1)/Al2O3(0 0 0 1) (Me = Al, Ag, Cu, Nb) interfaces. Stress–displacement relationships of separation perpendicular to the interface are calculated. It is shown that obtained results such as work of separation and tensile strength can be understood from electronic structure.

Study of Nickel Segregation at the TiNi-Titanium Oxide Interface

Ab-intio investigations of atomic and molecular oxygen on TiNi(110) surface are performed by using the projector augmented wave method with generalized gradient approximation for the exchange-correlation functional. Our results confirm the formation of a Ni-rich interface TiO2(100)/TiNi(110), for which the formation energies (Hf) of point defects at the interfacial layers were estimated. It is shown that Hf of swap Ti-Ni defect has a lower energy than that for the Ni antisites at the interfacial layers. The formation energies of point defects in bulk TiNi, monoclinic TiO, and rutile TiO2 are also calculated. Our results demonstrate that Hf of Ni-antisites in TiO is twice less than that in TiO2. The formation of small Ni clusters is also discussed.

Reconstruction dependence of the etching and passivation of the GaAs(001) surface

The microscopic nature of the selective interaction of iodine with an As- and Ga-stabilized GaAs(001) surface has been investigated by the photoelectron emission and ab initio calculations. The adsorption of iodine on the Ga-stabilized (4 × 2)/c(8 × 2) surface leads to the formation of the prevailing chemical bond with gallium atoms; to a significant redistribution of the electron density between the surface Ga and As atoms; and, as a result, to a decrease in their binding energy. Iodine on the As-stabilized (2 × 4)/c(2 × 8) surface forms a bond predominantly with surface arsenic atoms. Such a selective interaction of iodine with the reconstructed surfaces gives rise to the etching of the Ga-stabilized surface and the passivation of the As-stabilized surface; this explains the layer-by-layer (“digital”) etching of GaAs(001) controlled by the reconstruction transitions on this surface.

Influence of Impurities on Grain Boundaries Cohesion in B2-TiMe

The effect of interstitial and substitutional impurities on grain boundary (GB) cohesion in the series of B2-TiMe alloys is studied from first principles using pseudopotential approach. It is shown that the TiMe Σ5(310) symmetrical tilt GB cohesion is reduced by the segregation of hydrogen while it is increased due to boron or carbon segregation. We analyze also the combined and accumulation effect of interstitial B (C) and H impurities on the change of the Griffith work.

Initial oxidation of TiAl: An ab-initio investigation

We present ab-initio investigation of oxygen adsorption up to two monolayer coverage on the stoichiometric TiAl(100) surface to illustrate the initial oxidation stage. The formation of band gap near the Fermi level demonstrates the transformation from metal to oxide surface with increasing oxygen coverage. The oxidation of Ti rather than Al is observed from our electronic structure calculations. The energy barriers of oxygen diffusion between different sites on surface as well as in subsurface and bulk region are derived. It is shown that the diffusion of oxygen is much easier on the surface than that into the subsurface region.

Investigation of chemical bonding at metal-ceramic interfaces

We present a comparative ab-initio study of atomic and electronic properties of Al/TiC(N) and Al/VC(N) interfaces performed using DFT with the projector-augmented-wave method. The most stable configuration of metal film on the ceramic substrate was determined. The work of separation of metallic films in dependence on cleavage plane was calculated. The analysis of the electronic properties confirms a stronger interaction in the case of the Al top position over metalloid which indicates the dominant role of the covalent contribution in the chemical bonding at these interfaces. We demonstrate that point defects at the interface (metal, carbon and nitrogen vacancies) change the adhesion at the metal-ceramic interfaces significantly and cause redistribution of the electron properties across the interface.