Exploring PdCrAs Half-Heusler Alloy for Sustainable Energy Solutions: An Ab-initio Study

Abstract

This work presents a comprehensive investigation of the HH alloy PdCrAs using first - principles methods, highlighting its potential applications in various fields, including spintronics, thermoelectrics, and optoelectronics. We employed density functional theory (DFT) within the full potential linearized augmented plane wave (FLAPW) framework. Structural optimizations indicate that the alloy stabilizes in the ferromagnetic phase. Both mechanical and dynamical stability have been confirmed through analyses of elastic constants and phonon dispersion. Our calculations of the electronic band structure and density of states (DOS) reveal that PdCrAs exhibits half-metallic behavior, with a spin-polarized band gap of 0.670 eV in the minority spin channel. The magnetic moment aligns with the Slater Pauling (SP) rule, indicating robust ferromagnetism. Mechanical analysis shows that the material is ductile in nature. Thermodynamic analysis highlights the alloy's resilience, supported by consistent trends in entropy, heat capacity, and Debye temperature.Its optical response demonstrates strong absorption in the visible and ultraviolet (UV) regions, along with pronounced dielectric and plasmonic features, suggesting potential applications in optoelectronics and refracective coatings. Furthermore, evaluations of the transport properties reveal high Seebeck coefficients and a significantly tunable figure of merit (ZT), with values approaching 0.9 across the temperature range of 300 - 1500 K, indicating excellent thermoelectric characteristics. Overall, these findings position PdCrAs as a promising multifunctional material suitable sustainable energy solutions.