Theoretical study on Fe-Al clusters: geometric structure, bonding law and electronic structures *

Abstract

Structures of the small Fe-Al clusters with different atom proportion are calculated using the B3LYP method in density functional theory (DFT). Calculated results show that the Al atoms lose electrons easily while the Fe atoms capture electrons easily. The most stable geometry is the bonding between Fe and Fe atoms and between Fe and Al atoms with the largest possibility, and the cluster stability law with the same atom proportion accords with the change of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy and the entropy of cluster system. Moreover, the electronic structure study of the ground-state Fe 3Al and Fe 2CrAl clusters shows that the substitution of Cr atom for the Fe atom located at the next neighboring site of Al atom reduces localized electrons not only between Al atom and the next neighboring Cr atom, but also between Al atom and the nearest neighboring Fe atom. Although the substitution increases the plasticity and the magnetism of intermetallic compound, the stability of the system slightly decreases. Our theoretical results agree well with the experimental results.