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arXiv · 2302.05325

Thermodynamic stability of Li-B-C compounds from first principles

Saba Kharabadze·Maxwell Meyers·Charlsey R. Tomassetti·Elena R. Margine·Igor I. Mazin·Aleksey N. Kolmogorov
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Abstract

Prediction of high-$T_{\rm{c}}$ superconductivity in hole-doped Li$_x$BC two decades ago has brought about an extensive effort to synthesize new materials with honeycomb B-C layers, but the thermodynamic stability of Li-B-C compounds remains largely unexplored. In this study, we use density functional theory to characterize well-established and recently reported Li-B-C phases. Our calculation of the Li chemical potential in Li$_x$BC helps estimate the ($T$,$P$) conditions required for delithiation of the LiBC parent material, while examination of B-C phases helps rationalize the observation of metastable BC$_3$ polymorphs with honeycomb and diamond-like morphologies. At the same time, we demonstrate that recently reported BC$_3$, LiBC$_3$, and Li$_2$B$_2$C phases with new crystal structures are both dynamically and thermodynamically unstable. With a combination of evolutionary optimization and rational design, we identify considerably more natural and favorable Li$_2$B$_2$C configurations that, nevertheless, remain above the thermodynamic stability threshold.

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Saba Kharabadze, Maxwell Meyers, Charlsey R. Tomassetti, Elena R. Margine, Igor I. Mazin, Aleksey N. Kolmogorov. 2023-02-10. Thermodynamic stability of Li-B-C compounds from first principles. https://doi.org/10.1039/d2cp05500g

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