Effect of anti-site point defects on the mechanical and thermodynamic properties of MgZn2, MgCu2 Laves phases: A first-principle study

Abstract

A theoretical investigation on the effect of anti-site point defects on mechanical and thermodynamic properties of MgZn2 and MgCu2 based on the first-principles calculations has been implemented. The results show that Mg anti-site defect on Zn or Cu site plays a reinforcing role, while exhibiting a more brittle behavior. However, the defect phase of Cu anti-sites on Mg sublattice shows a ductile tendency. The temperature-dependent thermodynamic properties are also predicted along with Debye-Grüneisen model including Debye temperature, thermal expansion coefficient and vibrational heat capacity as well as vibrational entropy. Taking into account the contribution of the lattice vibration and thermal electronic excitations, the Helmholtz free energy F can be calculated, suggests that anti-site defects caused by the occupancy of Mg at the Zn or Cu site are thermodynamically unstable compared to the defect-free phases. In addition, the total amount of charge transfer, the overall and the local difference charge densities are further discussed to analyze the mechanism of mechanical properties.