Theoretical search for possible Li–Ni–B crystal structures using an adaptive genetic algorithm

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2020-03-02
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Wang, Renhai
Sun, Yang
Gvozdetskyi, Volodymyr
Zhao, Xin
Zhang, Feng
Xu, Lin-Han
Zaikina, Julia
Lin, Zijing
Wang, Cai-Zhuang
Ho, Kai-Ming
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Zaikina, Julia
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Ames National Laboratory

Ames National Laboratory is a government-owned, contractor-operated national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), operated by and located on the campus of Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.

For more than 70 years, the Ames National Laboratory has successfully partnered with Iowa State University, and is unique among the 17 DOE laboratories in that it is physically located on the campus of a major research university. Many of the scientists and administrators at the Laboratory also hold faculty positions at the University and the Laboratory has access to both undergraduate and graduate student talent.

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Physics and Astronomy
Physics and astronomy are basic natural sciences which attempt to describe and provide an understanding of both our world and our universe. Physics serves as the underpinning of many different disciplines including the other natural sciences and technological areas.
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Chemistry

The Department of Chemistry seeks to provide students with a foundation in the fundamentals and application of chemical theories and processes of the lab. Thus prepared they me pursue careers as teachers, industry supervisors, or research chemists in a variety of domains (governmental, academic, etc).

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The Department of Chemistry was founded in 1880.

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Ames National LaboratoryPhysics and AstronomyChemistry
Abstract

The structural diversity of rare-earth and transition metal borides indicates that alkali-transition metal borides (A-T-B) show tremendous promise in exhibiting a variety of crystal structures with different dimensionalities of T-B frameworks. On the other hand, the A-T-B ternary systems are severely underexplored because of the synthetic challenges associated with their preparation. Accurate and efficient computational predictions of low-energy stable and metastable phases can identify the optimal compositions of the hypothetical compounds in the A-T-B systems to guide the synthesis. In this work, we have computationally discovered several new phases in the Li–Ni–B ternary system. The newly discovered LiNiB, Li2Ni3B, and Li2NiB phases expand the existing theoretical database, and the convex-hull surface of Li–Ni–B has been re-constructed. The lowest energy structure of the LiNiB compound has been found by an adaptive genetic algorithm with layered motif, which matches with the experimentally determined structure. According to our electrochemical calculations, LiNiB and another predicted layered Li2NiB compounds have great potential as anode materials for lithium batteries. The Li2Ni3B compound with the space group P4332 was predicted to crystallize in a cubic structure composed of distorted octahedral units of BNi6, which is isostructural to two noncentrosymmetric superconductors Li2Pd3B and Li2Pt3B. While we were unable to experimentally confirm the Li2Ni3B compound utilizing the hydride synthetic route, attempts to synthesize this compound by alternate methods remain highly desirable, considering its potential superconducting properties.

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