Structural, elastic, electronic, magnetic and thermoelectric properties of new quaternary Heusler compounds CoZrMnX (X=Al, Ga, Ge, In)

We have performed a comprehensive set of first principles calculations to study the structural, elastic, electronic, magnetic and transport properties of new quaternary Heusler compounds CoZrMnX (X = Al, Ga, Ge, In). The results showed that all the quaternary Heusler compounds were stable in Type (I) structure. CoZrMnX are elastically stable and relatively hard materials. CoZrMnAl, CoZrMnGa, and CoZrMnIn are found to be ductile and CoZrMnGe is brittle in nature. The calculated Debye temperatures of all compounds are relatively high. The electronic structure calculations reveal that CoZrMnAl is nearly half metallic, CoZrMnGa and CoZrMnIn are metallic, and CoZrMnGe is a narrow indirect bandgap semiconductor. The calculated magnetic properties implies that CoZrMnAl, CoZrMnGa, and CoZrMnIn are ferromagnetic while CoZrMnGe is non-magnetic material. The CoZrMnAl is highly spin-polarized (96%) and CoZrMnGe is non-spin-polarized. Seebeck coefficient (S) in CoZrMnGe is relatively high (−106 μV/K at 650 K) due to its semiconducting nature. The calculated thermoelectric figure of merit CoZrMnGe is 0.1 at 600 K and for CoZrMnIn it is also 0.1 at 900 K. We hope our interesting results will inspire experimentalist to synthesis the new quaternary Heusler compounds CoZrMnX (X = Al, Ga, Ge, In).