Exploring the impact of hydrostatic pressure on the structural, electronic and mechanical properties of ZrNiPb half-Heusler alloy: A DFT approach

Abstract

The structural, electronic, elastic and mechanical properties of ZrNiPb half-Heusler alloy under pressure ranging from 0 to 25 GPa have been studied using the density functional theory within the generalized gradient approximation (GGA). The results of ambient condition were in good agreement with the available theoretical and experimental data. Our electronic structure and density of state results show that ZrNiPb is an indirect bandgap semiconductor half-Heusler alloy with a narrow energy gap of 0.375 eV. Based on the calculated elastic constants (C11, C12 and C44), Young’s modulus (E), Poisson’s ratio (ν), Shear modulus (G), Zener anisotropy factor (A) and brittle-ductile behaviors under pressure have been discussed. The calculated Poisson’s ratio shows that ZrNiPb undergoes a relatively small volume change during uniaxial deformation. We show that the chemical bonds in ZrNiPb are stronger due to the high value of C11.