Novel high-pressure phases of AlP from first principles

By utilizing a crystal structure prediction software via particle swarm optimization, this study proposes three new high-pressure phases of aluminum phosphide (AlP) with high density and high hardness, in addition to previously proposed phases (wz-, zb-, rs-, NiAs-, β-Sn-, CsCl-, and Cmcm-AlP). These new phases are as follows: (1) an I$4¯$3d symmetric structure (cI24-AlP) at 55.2 GPa, (2) an R$3¯$m symmetric structure (hR18-AlP) at 9.9 GPa, and (3) a C222 symmetric structure (oC12-AlP) at 20.6 GPa. Based on first-principle calculations, these phases have higher energetic advantage than CsCl- and β-Sn-AlP at ambient pressure. The independent elastic constants and phonon dispersion spectra are calculated to check the mechanical and dynamic stabilities of these phases. According to mechanical property studies, these new AlP phases have higher hardness than NiAs-AlP, and oC12-AlP has the highest hardness of 7.9 GPa. Electronic band structure calculations indicate that NiAs- and hR18-AlP have electrical conductivity. Additionally, wz-, zb-, and oC12-AlP possess semiconductive properties with indirect bandgaps, and cI24-AlP has a semiconductive property with a direct bandgap.