Mechanical behavior, electronic and phonon properties of ZrB12 under pressure

The mechanical, phonon and electronic properties of ZrB12 under pressure are investigated by first-principles calculations. The research shows that ZrB12 is mechanically and dynamically stable up to 100 GPa. The elastic constants, bulk modulus B, shear modulus G, hardness Hv, B/G ratio, Debye temperature under different pressures are systematically investigated. The calculation of electronic properties shows that ZrB12 has metallic character. The Zr-d states dominate the DOS at the Fermi level, and the total DOS and PDOS change slightly with the increasing pressure. DOS (Ef) first decreases, then increases with the increasing pressure. At 50 GPa, ZrB12 has less electron carriers. The analysis of electron localization function shows that the strong B-B and Zr-B covalent bonds may be responsible for the high hardness and stability.