Electronic structures and mechanical properties of Al(111)/ZrB2(0001) heterojunctions from first-principles calculation

Employing first-principles density functional theory (DFT), the structures and electronic and mechanical properties of Al(111)/ZrB2(0001) heterojunctions are investigated. It is found that both B-terminated ZrB2(0001) and Zr-terminated ZrB2(0001) can form heterojunction interfaces with Al(111) surface. The heterojunction with B-terminated ZrB2(0001) is demonstrated to be most stable by comparing the surface adhesion energies of six different heterojunction models. In the stable configurations, the Al atom is found projecting to the hexagonal hollow site of neighbouring boron layer for the B-terminated ZrB2(001), and locating at the top site of the boron atoms for Zr-terminated ZrB2(001) interface. The mechanisms of interface interaction are investigated by density of states, charge density difference and band structure calculations. It is found that covalent bonds between surface Al atoms and B atoms are formed in the B-terminated heterojunction, whereas the Al atoms and Zr atoms are stabilised by interface metallic bonds for the Zr-terminated case. Mechanical properties of Al/ZrB2 heterojunctions are also predicted in the current work. The values of moduli of Al/ZrB2 heterojunctions are determined to be between those of single crystal Al and ZrB2, which exhibit the transition of mechanical strength between two bulk phases. DFT calculations with the current models provide the mechanical properties for each heterojunction and the corresponding contributions by each type of interface in the composite materials. This work paves the way for industrial applications of Al(111)/ZrB2(0001) heterojunctions.