First Principles Insight of Structural, Vibrational, Mechanical and
Optoelectronic Properties of LiBH4 for Hydrogen Storage and
Optoelectronic Devices
Abstract
To cope with the energy crisis and global warming issues, researcher are
rendering their efforts and paying their attentions to analyze and
fabricate hydrogen storage devices. In this regard, we report a
comprehensive study on the structural, vibrational, and optoelectronic
properties of Lithium Borohydride (LiBH4), a hydrogen storage material.
For this purpose, calculations of structural properties have been made
using the local, non-local and hybrid functionals within the framework
of density functional theory (DFT). The lattice constants for the
orthorhombic phase are determined by applying LDA, PBE and HSE06 density
functionals and their results are compared with available experimental
and theoretical studies. In order to determine IR and Raman active modes
of vibrations, vibrational spectroscopy has been utilized through
Density Functional Perturbation Theory (DFPT) approach. Li, B and H
atoms are noticed to be contributing in the modes of vibrations between
different ranges of frequencies, i.e., 0 to 400 cm-1, 1100 to 1300 cm-1
and 2250 -2400 cm-1. The respective values of band gaps are found to be
6.35 eV, 6.81 eV and 7.58 eV for LDA, PBE and HSE06 functionals,
respectively, leading to indicate insulating nature of LiBH4 which makes
it a promising candidate for applications in optoelectronic devices. The
mechanical analysis reveals that LiBH4 is a brittle material. The
optical properties such as dielectric constant, refractive index,
reflectivity, absorptivity, conductivity and loss function are also
calculated with the aid of well-recognized relation of Kramer-Kronig.
The plasma frequency is noted at the highest peak (13.7 eV) of the
energy loss function.