Structural, electronics and optical properties of sodium based fluoroperovskites NaXF3 (X = Ca, Mg, Sr and Zn): First principles calculations

A theoretical study to investigate the electronic, optical and structural properties of sodium-based cubic fluoro-perovskite NaXF3 (where X = Ca, Mg, Sr, Zn), using density functional theory (DFT) based CASTEP (Cambridge Serial Total Energy Package) code with ultra-soft pseudo-potential USP plane wave and Perdew Burke Ernzerhof (PBE) exchange-correlation functional of Generalized Gradient Approximation (GGA), is reported. All of these compounds are found to be in a stable shape with a cubic pm3m structure, according to the findings. The results we discovered are consistent with the data that is already available. Calculations of the electronic band structure show that NaCaF3, NaMgF3 and NaSrF3 have a direct and NaZnF3 has an indirect band gap. Partial density of states (PDOS) and total density of states (TDOS) confirm the degree of electron localization in various bands. All four compounds' optical transitions were investigated by fitting the dispersion relation for the hypothetical dielectric function scale to the corresponding peaks. NaZnF3 is semiconductor while the NaCF3, NaMgF3 and NaSrF3 compounds have insulating behavior. The hypothetical part dispersion of the dielectric function reveals its wide range of energy transparency. As a result, it's possible that these materials may be used in optoelectronics to absorb ultraviolet light. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

A theoretical study was conducted on the electronic, optical, and structural properties of sodium-based cubic fluoro-perovskite NaXF3 compounds, revealing stable cubic structures and distinctive electronic band structures. NaZnF3 was found to be a semiconductor, while NaCaF3, NaMgF3, and NaSrF3 exhibited insulating behavior. The wide energy transparency of the hypothetical dielectric function suggests potential applications in optoelectronics for absorbing ultraviolet light.