First-Principles Calculations of Thermoelectric PbSe2 Compound to Predict its Elastic Properties

Abstract

The influencing effect of pressure on structural stability and elastic properties of PbSe2 compound is mainly investigated by first-principles method and homogenization method of the Y parameter. The optimized structural parameters at zero pressure are a=b=6.446Å, c=7.887Å (GGA method) and a=b=6.316Å, c=7.651Å (LDA method), which has good agreement with the experimental and theoretical values. Our calculated lattice parameters and Se-Se bond length are in excellent agreement with experimental data. PbSe2 compound is energetically stable with a good alloying ability. The elastic constants are calculated, and then the bulk modulus, shear modulus, Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio and anisotropy factor are determined. Besides, Y parameter method is used to investigate changes of the Poisson ratio, Young’s and shear moduli of PbSe2 within different normal orientation crystal planes. Results show that: 1) Young’s modulus is about 48.37 GPa from GGA and 58.87 GPa from LDA by Reuss-Voigt-Hill estimation, which is averaged about 53.62 GPa; 2) The PbSe2 compound is ductile according to B/G ratio. The universal anisotropic index AU shows that PbSe2 exhibits a fairly high elastic anisotropy.