First-principles investigation of the electronic, mechanical, and thermodynamic properties of europium carbide

Abstract

The electronic, mechanical, and thermodynamic properties of europium carbide (EuC2) are investigated using first-principles density functional theory within the generalized gradient approximation. The calculated elastic constants indicate that EuC2 is mechanically stable. The shear modulus, Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio, the bulk modulus – shear modulus ratio, shear anisotropy, and elastic anisotropy are also calculated. Finally, we obtain the Vickers hardness, averaged sound velocity, longitudinal sound velocity, transverse sound velocity, Debye temperature, melting point, and thermal conductivity of EuC2.