The Structural, Elastic, and thermodynamic properties of Sr2P7Br Double Zintl salt with heptaphosphanortricyclane configuration

Abstract

We investigated the effects of externally applied pressure on the Sr2P7Br compound’s properties, specifically its crystalline structure, elasticity, and thermodynamics. This investigation was carried out using the pseudopotential plane wave method within the framework of density functional theory. We used the well-known PBEsol variant of the exchange–correlation general gradient approximation specifically designed for solid-state analysis. This is the first endeavor to investigate the effects of pressure on the Sr2P7Br material using a theoretical approach. The computed equilibrium structural parameters closely match the relevant experimental counterpart values. The determined elastic constants, obtained under both ambient pressure and hydrostatic pressures up to 18 GPa, satisfy the mechanical stability requirements. Based on the computed Pugh’s ratio, Cauchy pressure, and Poisson’s ratio, it can be concluded that the Sr2P7Br compound exhibits ductile behavior. The polycrystalline elastic moduli, including the isotropic bulk modulus, shear modulus, Young’s modulus, and Poisson’s ratio, at ambient pressure and under pressure effects, were derived from the single-crystal elastic constants. Additionally, associated parameters, such as average sound velocity, Debye temperature, minimum thermal conductivity, and Vickers hardness, were examined under pressure influences. The quasi-harmonic Debye approximation was used to investigate the relationship between temperature and some macroscopic physical parameters, such as lattice parameter, bulk modulus, Debye temperature, volume thermal expansion coefficient, and isobaric and isochoric heat capacities, at fixed pressures of 0, 4, 8, 12, and 16 GPa. The results derived from the elastic constants exhibit substantial concordance with those computed using the Debye quasi-harmonic model, thereby validating the reliability of our findings.