Y. Kawazoe

Ferromagnetism in Semihydrogenated Graphene Sheet

Single layer of graphite (graphene) was predicted and later experimentally confirmed to undergo metal-semiconductor transition when fully hydrogenated (graphane). Using density functional theory we show that when half of the hydrogen in this graphane sheet is removed, the resulting semihydrogenated graphene (which we refer to as graphone) becomes a ferromagnetic semiconductor with a small indirect gap. Half-hydrogenation breaks the delocalized pi bonding network of graphene, leaving the electrons in the unhydrogenated carbon atoms localized and unpaired. The magnetic moments at these sites couple ferromagnetically with an estimated Curie temperature between 278 and 417 K, giving rise to an infinite magnetic sheet with structural integrity and magnetic homogeneity. This is very different from the widely studied finite graphene nanostrucures such as one-dimensional nanoribbons and two-dimensional nanoholes, where zigzag edges are necessary for magnetism. From graphene to graphane and to graphone, the system evolves from metallic to semiconducting and from nonmagnetic to magnetic. Hydrogenation provides a novel way to tune the properties with unprecedented potentials for applications.

Hysteretic current–voltage characteristics and resistance switching at an epitaxial oxide Schottky junction SrRuO3∕SrTi0.99Nb0.01O3

Transport properties have been studied for a perovskite heterojunction consisting of SrRuO3 (SRO) film epitaxially grown on SrTi0.99Nb0.01O3 (Nb:STO) substrate. The SRO/Nb:STO interface exhibits rectifying current–voltage (I–V) characteristics agreeing with those of a Schottky junction composed of a deep work-function metal (SRO) and an n-type semiconductor (Nb:STO). A hysteresis appears in the I–V characteristics, where high resistance and low resistance states are induced by reverse and forward bias stresses, respectively. The resistance switching is also triggered by applying short voltage pulses of 1μs–10ms duration.

Electronic Structure and Optical Properties of the Co-doped Anatase TiO2 Studied from First Principles

The Co-doped anatase TiO2, a recently discovered room-temperature ferromagnetic insulator, has been studied by the first-principles calculations in the pseudo-potential plane-wave formalism within the local-spin-density approximation (LSDA), supplemented by the full-potential linear augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method. Emphasis is placed on the dependence of its electronic structures and linear optical properties on the Co-doping concentration and oxygen vacancy in the system in order to pursue the origin of its ferromagnetism. In the case of substitutional doping of Co for Ti, our calculated results are well consistent with the experimental data, showing that Co is in its low spin state. Also, it is shown that the oxygen vacancy enhances the ferromagnetism and has larger effect on both the electronic structure and optical properties than the Co-doping concentration only.

Vacancy induced structural and magnetic transition in MnCo1−xGe

The authors report ab initio total energy calculations on the first-order structural transition of the ferromagnetic MnCo1−xGe(0.00⩽x⩽0.25) intermetallic compound. They show that increasing Co vacancies induce a transition from an orthorhombic structure at 0⩽x⩽0.08 to a hexagonal structure at x>0.08. A concomitant high-to-low moment magnetic transition and a large magnetovolume effect occur due to the change of the symmetry and the resulting coupling distance between the magnetic atoms. These results provide an excellent account for the experimental results and reveal the crucial role of the Co vacancies in determining the relative structural stability and the magnetic properties of MnCo1−xGe.

The Intrinsic Ferromagnetism in a MnO2 Monolayer

The Mn atom, because of its special electronic configuration of 3d(5)4s(2), has been widely used as a dopant in various two-dimensional (2D) monolayers such as graphene, BN, silicene and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). The distributions of doped Mn atoms in these systems are highly sensitive to the synthesis process and conditions, thus suffering from problems of low solubility and surface clustering. Here we show for the first time that the MnO2 monolayer, synthetized 10 years ago, where Mn ions are individually held at specific sites, exhibits intrinsic ferromagnetism with a Curie temperature of 140 K, comparable to the highest TC value achieved experimentally for Mn-doped GaAs. The well-defined atomic configuration and the intrinsic ferromagnetism of the MnO2 monolayer suggest that it is superior to other magnetic monolayer materials.

First-principles study of magnetic properties in V-doped ZnO

A comprehensive theoretical study of electronic and magnetic properties of V-doped ZnO in bulk as well as (112¯0) thin films has been performed using density functional theory. Vanadium atoms substituted at Zn sites show very little selectivity of site occupancy. More importantly, different geometries with ferromagnetic, ferrimagnetic, and antiferromagnetic configurations are found to be energetically nearly degenerate both in Zn1−xVxO bulk and subsurface layers of the thin film. On the other hand, V atoms couple ferromagnetically when they occupy surface sites of the thin film. The diverse magnetic behaviors in V-doped ZnO account for the many reported conflicting experimental results.

Phase stability of carbon clathrates at high pressure

Group-IV element clathrates have attracted considerable interest in recent years. Here, we report an ab initio study on the structural stability of carbon clathrates at high pressure and identify fcc-C136 clathrate as the third most stable carbon phase after cubic diamond and hexagonal graphite. A pressure-induced phase transition is predicted to occur around 17 GPa from hexagonal graphite to fcc-C136, which is more stable than other carbon clathrates such as hex-C40 and sc-C46, and the recently predicted metastable M-carbon up to 26 GPa. Phonon dispersion calculations confirm the dynamic stability of fcc-C136 as well as diamond.

Interaction of gas molecules with Ti-benzene complexes

Using first-principles calculations based on gradient corrected density functional theory, we have studied the interaction of NH(3), H(2), and O(2) with Ti-benzene complexes [Ti(Bz)(2) and Ti(2)(Bz)(2)]. The energy barriers as the gas molecules approach the Ti-benzene complexes as well as the geometries of the ground state of these interacting complexes were obtained by starting with several initial configurations. While NH(3) and H(2) were found to physisorb on the Ti(Bz)(2) complex, the O(2) reacts with it strongly leading to dissociative chemisorption of the oxygen molecule. In contrast all the gas molecules react with the Ti(2)(Bz)(2) complex. These studies indicate that the reaction of certain, but not all, gas molecules can be used to probe the equilibrium geometries of organometallic complexes. Under special conditions, such as high pressure, the Ti atom intercalated between benzene molecules in Ti(Bz)(2) and the Ti(2)(Bz)(2) complexes could store hydrogen in chemisorbed states. The results are compared to available experimental data.

Structural basis for supercooled liquid fragility established by synchrotron-radiation method and computer simulation

Metallic melts above the liquidus temperature exhibit nearly Arrhenius-type temperature dependence of viscosity. On cooling below the equilibrium liquidus temperature metallic melts exhibit a non-Arrhenius temperature dependence of viscosity characterized by liquid fragility phenomenon which origin is still not well understood. Structural changes and vitrification of the Pd42.5Cu30Ni7.5P20 liquid alloy on cooling from above the equilibrium liquidus temperature are studied by synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction and compared with the results of first-principles calculations. Subsequent analysis of the atomic and electronic structure of the alloy in liquid and glassy states reveals formation of chemical short-range order in the temperature range corresponding to such a non-Arrhenius behavior. The first-principles calculations were applied to confirm the experimental findings.Metallic melts above the liquidus temperature exhibit nearly Arrhenius-type temperature dependence of viscosity. On cooling below the equilibrium liquidus temperature metallic melts exhibit a non-Arrhenius temperature dependence of viscosity characterized by liquid fragility phenomenon which origin is still not well understood. Structural changes and vitrification of the Pd42.5Cu30Ni7.5P20 liquid alloy on cooling from above the equilibrium liquidus temperature are studied by synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction and compared with the results of first-principles calculations. Subsequent analysis of the atomic and electronic structure of the alloy in liquid and glassy states reveals formation of chemical short-range order in the temperature range corresponding to such a non-Arrhenius behavior. The first-principles calculations were applied to confirm the experimental findings.

Ab Initio Studies of Phonons in CaTiO3

Using the local-density approximation, and calculating the Hellmann–Feynman forces, the stability of the perovskite-like structures of CaTiO3 have been studied by applying the direct method and deriving the phonon dispersion relations. The cubic Pm3m phase shows dispersionless soft phonon branch spreading from R to M points of the cubic Brillouin zone. Low-symmetry phase I4/mcm can be considered as a result of the soft mode condensation at R point. The experimentally observed Pmnb phase is a consequence of the intersection of Imma and P4/mbm space groups, being the result of soft mode condensation at R and M points, respectively. Thus, the Pmnb can be regarded as simultaneous condensations of two soft modes. The phonon dispersion relations of Pmnb suggest that this phase is stable.