Matter and Radiation at Extremes, Volume. 6, Issue 3, 038403(2021)

Prediction of anomalous LA-TA splitting in electrides

Leilei Zhang, Hua Y. Genga), and Q. Wu
Author Affiliations
  • National Key Laboratory of Shock Wave and Detonation Physics, Institute of Fluid Physics, CAEP, P.O. Box 919-102, Mianyang, Sichuan 621900, People’s Republic of China
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    Electrides are an emerging class of materials with excess electrons localized in interstices and acting as anionic interstitial quasi-atoms (ISQs). The spatial ion–electron separation means that electrides can be treated physically as ionic crystals, and this unusual behavior leads to extraordinary physical and chemical phenomena. Here, a completely different effect in electrides is predicted. By recognizing the long-range Coulomb interactions between matrix atoms and ISQs that are unique in electrides, a nonanalytic correction to the forces exerted on the matrix atoms is proposed. This correction gives rise to a longitudinal acoustic-transverse acoustic splitting in the acoustic branch of lattice phonons near the zone center, similar to the well-known longitudinal optical–transverse optical splitting in the phonon spectra of ionic compounds. The factors that govern this splitting are investigated, with isotropic fcc-Li and anisotropic hP4-Na as the typical examples. It is found that not all electrides can induce a detectable splitting, and criteria are given for this type of splitting. The present prediction unveils the rich phenomena in electrides and could lead to unprecedented applications.

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    Leilei Zhang, Hua Y. Geng, Q. Wu. Prediction of anomalous LA-TA splitting in electrides[J]. Matter and Radiation at Extremes, 2021, 6(3): 038403

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    Paper Information

    Category: High Pressure Physics and Materials Science

    Received: Jan. 7, 2021

    Accepted: Mar. 24, 2021

    Published Online: May. 21, 2021

    The Author Email: Geng Hua Y. (s102genghy@caep.cn)

    DOI:10.1063/5.0043276

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