Structural properties of lanthanide and actinide compounds within the plane wave pseudopotential approach

We show that plane wave ultrasoft pseudopotential methods readily extend to the calculation of the structural properties of lanthanide and actinide containing compounds. This is demonstrated through a series of calculations performed on UO, UO2, UO3, U3O8, UC2, alpha-CeC2, CeB6, CeSe, CeO2, NdB6, TmOI, LaBi, LaTiO3, YbO, and elemental Lu.

Theoretical strength and cleavage of diamond

The theoretical strength of diamond has been calculated for the <100>, <110>, and <111> directions using a first principles approach and is found to be strongly dependent on crystallographic direction. This elastic anisotropy, found at large strains, and particularly the pronounced minimum in cohesion in the <111> direction, is believed to be the reason for the remarkable dominance of the 111 cleavage plane when diamond is fractured. The extra energy required to cleave a crystal on planes other than 111 is discussed with reference to simple surface energy calculations and also the introduction of bond-bending terms.

Structure of Cu6PbO8

First-principles quantum mechanical calculations based on density functional theory were performed for Cu6PbO8, hexacopper lead octaoxide, murdochite. The computed lattice parameter, density and bond lengths at ambient pressure are in good agreement with experimental data for murdochite. At about 18 GPa a phase transition is predicted, when a polymorph with a Suzuki-type structure, i.e. a close-packed structure with ordered vacancies, is proposed to become stable. The pressure dependence of the structural parameters has been calculated for the two polymorphs and their bulk moduli have been predicted. It is argued that the incorporation of halogen atoms is not a precondition for the stability of murdochite.