Structural phase stability, electronic structure and mechanical properties of alkali metal hydrides AMH4 (A=Li, Na; M=B, AL)

The structural stability of Alkali metal hydrides AMH4 (A=Li, Na; M=B, Al) is analyzed among the various crystal structures, namely hexagonal (P63mc), tetragonal (P42/nmc), tetragonal (P-421c), tetragonal (I41/a), orthorhombic (Pnma) and monoclinic (P21/c). It is observed that, orthorhombic (Pnma) phase is the most stable structure for LiBH4, monoclinic (P21/c) for LiAlH4, tetragonal (P42/nmc) for NaBH4 and tetragonal (I41/a) for NaAlH4 at normal pressure. Pressure induced structural phase transitions are observed in LiBH4, LiAlH4, NaBH4 and NaAlH4 at the pressures of 4 GPa, 36.1 GPa, 26.5 GPa and 46 GPa respectively. The electronic structure reveals that these metal hydrides are wide band gap insulators. The calculated elastic constants indicate that these metal hydrides are mechanically stable at normal pressure.