First-principles study on the stability and mechanical properties of TiC$$_x$$N$$1-x$$
Source abstract
Abstract
First-principles evolutionary simulations are used to predict the stable compounds of TiC $$x$$ N $$1-x$$ . Our structural searching results reveal that TiC $$x$$ N $$1-x$$ system has a wide compositional range and several TiC $$x$$ N $$1-x$$ structures with new stoichiometries are found. All the predicted TiC $$x$$ N $$1-x$$ compounds are dynamically stable at ambient pressure. The elastic properties, hardness and fracture toughness of these TiC $$x$$ N $$1-x$$ compounds have been systematically investigated. New ternary compound Ti $$5$$ C $$3$$ N $$2$$ is predicted to be the hardest and has a Vickers hardness of 29 GPa and a high fracture toughness (3.38 MPa m $$1/2$$ ). The high hardness for Ti $$5$$ C $$3$$ N $$2$$ originates from the strong interactions between Ti-3d and C-2p electrons according to the electronic structure analysis. The relationship between elastic properties and valence electron concentration (VEC) is further discussed. The results show that the hardness and shear moduli of TiC $$x$$ N $$1-x$$ compounds simultaneously reach their maximum when the VEC is around 8.4.
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Research context
OpenAlex topics: Metal and Thin Film Mechanics · Advanced materials and composites · Diamond and Carbon-based Materials Research
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References (60)
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