Structural, elastic and thermodynamic properties of tetragonal and orthorhombic polymorphs of Sr₂GeN₂: an <i>ab initio</i> investigation

Abstract

The structural, elastic and thermodynamic properties of the α (tetragonal) and β (orthorhombic) polymorphs of the Sr2GeN2 compound have been examined in detail using ab initio density functional theory pseudopotential plane-wave calculations. Apart the structural properties at the ambient conditions, all present reported results are predicted for the first time. The calculated equilibrium lattice parameters and inter-atomic bond-lengths of the considered polymorphs are in good agreement with the available experimental data. It is found that α-Sr2GeN2 is energetically more stable than β-Sr2GeN2. The two examined polymorphs are very similar in their crystal structures and have almost identical local environments. The single-crystal and polycrystalline elastic parameters and related properties – including elastic constants, bulk, shear and Young’s moduli, Poisson’s ratio, anisotropy indexes, Pugh’s criterion, elastic wave velocities and Debye temperature – have been predicted. Temperature and pressure dependence of some macroscopic properties – including the unit-cell volume, bulk modulus, volume thermal expansion coefficient, heat capacity and Debye temperature – have been evaluated using ab initio calculations combined with the quasi-harmonic Debye model.