First-principles investigations on the elastic and thermodynamic properties of cubic ZrO2 under high pressure

Abstract

We have investigated the elastic and thermodynamic properties of ZrO 2 under pressure up to 120 Gpa by the plane wave pseudopotential density functional theory with the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) method. The elastic constants of ZrO 2 are calculated and meet the generalized stability criteria, suggesting that ZrO 2 is mechanically stable within this pressure range. The pressure effects on the elastic properties reveal that the elastic modulus B, shear modulus G and Young's modulus Y increase linearly with the pressure increasing, implying that the resistance to deformation is enhanced. In addition, by analyzing the Poisson's ratio ν and the value of B/G, we notice that ZrO 2 is regarded as being a ductile material under high pressure and the ductility can be improved by the pressure increasing. Then, we employ the quasi-harmonic Debye model considering the phononic effects to obtain the thermodynamic properties of ZrO 2. Debye temperature ΘD, thermal expansion coefficient α, heat capacity Cp and Grüneisen parameter γ are systematically explored at pressure of 0–80 Gpa and temperature of 0–1000 K. Our results have provided fundamental facts and evidences for further experimental and theoretical researches.