Silicon-doping makes the B12N12 insulator to an n or p-semiconductor

Abstract

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to investigate the electronic and structural properties of pristine and Si-doped B12N12 fullerene in SiB and SiN models in order to evaluate the influence of Si doping on B12N12 fullerene. The optimized structures, structural parameters, dipole moments, binding energies, energy gaps, Fermi level energies (EFL), work function (Φ), and chemical shifts have been evaluated for the pristine and two Si-doped B12N12 fullerene structures. It was found that the values of energy gap and work function of the SiB and SiN models are decreased, so that the B12N12 insulator converts to an n or p-semiconductor in the SiB and SiN models. Also, a better value of binding energy was obtained for the SiB model in comparison with the SiN model. The evaluation of chemical shifts indicated that the doped Si atom significantly influence on the chemical shifts of the B12N12 fullerene, especially in the SiN model. The doped Si atom could employ an electric field on the B and N atoms of Si-doped B12N12 structures, so that their chemical shifts go to lower fields.