Mary Kathleen Caucci , Jacob T. Sivak , Saeed S.I. Almishal , Christina M. Rost , Ismaila Dabo , Jon-Paul Maria , Susan B. Sinnott
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Rare-earth oxides (REOs) are an important class of materials owing to their unique properties, including high ionic conductivities, large dielectric constants, and elevated melting temperatures, making them relevant to several technological applications such as catalysis, ionic conduction, and sensing. The ability to predict these properties at moderate computational cost is essential to guiding materials discovery and optimizing materials performance. Although density functional theory (DFT) is the favored approach for predicting electronic and atomic structures, its accuracy is limited in describing strong electron correlation and localization inherent to REOs. The newly developed strongly constrained and appropriately normed (SCAN) meta-generalized-gradient approximations (meta-GGAs) promise improved accuracy in modeling these strongly correlated systems. We assess the performance of these meta-GGAs on binary REOs by comparing the numerical accuracy of thirteen exchange–correlation approximations in predicting structural, magnetic, and electronic properties. Hubbard U corrections for self-interaction errors and spin–orbit coupling are systematically considered. Our comprehensive assessment offers insights into the physical properties and functional performance of REOs predicted by first-principles and provides valuable guidance for selecting optimal DFT functionals for exploring these materials.
期刊介绍:
The goal of Computational Materials Science is to report on results that provide new or unique insights into, or significantly expand our understanding of, the properties of materials or phenomena associated with their design, synthesis, processing, characterization, and utilization. To be relevant to the journal, the results should be applied or applicable to specific material systems that are discussed within the submission.