Ning-Chao Zhang

Structural, elastic, electronic and optical properties of various mineral phases of TiO2 from first-principles calculations

Titanium dioxide is well known as a semiconductor material, which attracts a great deal of attention for promising applications in many fields due to its outstanding physical and chemical properties. To investigate the structural, elastic, mechanical, electronic and optical properties of various TiO2 phases systematically, we present the ultrasoft pseudopotential planewave method within local density approximation and generalized gradient approximation, as well as the norm-conserving pseudopotential within hybrid functional B3LYP by first-principles calculations on fluorite, pyrite, rutile, anatase, hollandite, brookite, columbite, cotunnite, bronze and baddeleyite TiO2 phases. The structural parameters of ten phases are calculated, which are shown to be consistent with previous theoretical and experimental data. We obtain the elastic constants of ten phases and then estimate the bulk, shear and Youngs moduli, Poissons coefficient and Lames constants using the Voigt–Reuss–Hill approximation. The energy band structures, density of states and charge populations of ten phases were obtained and indicated there is covalency in TiO2. Moreover, the complex dielectric function, refractive index and extinction coefficient of the ten phases were calculated; this data can aid future experimental research.