Chemical bonding and Born charge in 1T-HfS2

We combine infrared absorption and Raman scattering spectroscopies to explore the properties of the heavy transition metal dichalcogenide 1T-HfS2. We employ the LO–TO splitting of the Eu vibrational mode along with a reevaluation of mode mass, unit cell volume, and dielectric constant to reveal the Born effective charge. We find $${Z}_{{\rm{B}}}^{* }$$ Z B * = 5.3e, in excellent agreement with complementary first-principles calculations. In addition to resolving the controversy over the nature of chemical bonding in this system, we decompose Born charge into polarizability and local charge. We find α = 5.07 Å3 and Z* = 5.2e, respectively. Polar displacement-induced charge transfer from sulfur p to hafnium d is responsible for the enhanced Born charge compared to the nominal 4+ in hafnium. 1T-HfS2 is thus an ionic crystal with strong and dynamic covalent effects. Taken together, our work places the vibrational properties of 1T-HfS2 on a firm foundation and opens the door to understanding the properties of tubes and sheets.

Theoretical investigation of elastic and phononic properties of Zn1−xBexO alloys

Our calculations were conducted within density functional theory (DFT) and density functional perturbation theory (DFPT) using norm-conserving pseudo-potential and the local density approximation. The elastic constants of [Formula: see text] were calculated, [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] increase with the increase of Be content, whereas the [Formula: see text] shows a non-monotonic variation and [Formula: see text] decreases when Be concentration increases. The values of bulk modulus [Formula: see text], Young’s modulus [Formula: see text] and shear modulus [Formula: see text] increase with the increase of Be content. Poisson’s ratio [Formula: see text] decreases with increased Be concentration. The ductility decreases with increasing Be concentration and the compressibility for [Formula: see text] along [Formula: see text]-axis is smaller than along [Formula: see text]-axis. Phonon dispersion curves show that [Formula: see text] is dynamically stable (no soft modes). Quantities such as refractive index, Born effective charge, dielectric constants and optical phonon frequencies were calculated as a function of the Be molar fraction [Formula: see text]. The agreement between the present results and the known data that are available only for ZnO and BeO is generally satisfactory. Our results for [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] are predictions.