A revised version of the semilocal exchange-correlation functional [Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 073001 (2016)] (TM) is proposed by incorporating the modifications to its correlation content obtained from the full high-density second-order gradient expansion as proposed in the case of revised Tao-Perdew-Staroverov-Scuseria (revTPSS) [Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 026403 (2009)] functional. The present construction improves the performance of TM functional over a wide range of quantum chemical and solid-state properties (thermochemistry and structural). More specifically, the cohesive energies, jellium surface exchange-correlation energies, and real metallic surface energies are improved by preserving the accuracy of the solid-state lattice constants and bulk moduli. The present proposition is not only physically motivated but also enhances the applicability of the TM functional. New physical insights with proper exemplification of the present modification which is presented here can further serve for more realistic non-empirical density functional construction.

The bulk properties (lattice constants, bulk moduli, and cohesive energies) of alkali, alkaline-earth, and transition metals are studied within the framework of the recently developed meta-GGA (meta-Generalized Gradient Approximation) semilocal exchange-correlation functionals. To establish the applicability, broadness and accuracy of meta-GGA functionals we also put the results of PBE (Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof) and PBEsol (PBE reparametrized for solids) functionals. The interesting feature of the present paper is that it measures the accuracy of the recently developed TM (Tao-Mo) and TMTPSS (TM exchange with Tao-Perdew-Staroverov-Scuseria (TPSS) correlation) and SCAN (Strongly Constrained and Appropriately Normed) functionals on describing aforementioned properties. The present systematic investigation shows that the TM is accurate in describing the lattice constants while for cohesive energies and bulk moduli the accuracy is biased towards the PBE and TPSS functionals.

CoFe 2 O 4 and NiFe 2 O 4 are well-known insulating and ferrimagnetic spinel ferrites with high Curie temperatures, an important characteristic for electronic and spintronic applications. We used first-principles calculations to investigate how their electronic and magnetic properties can be altered or tuned by the presence of structural point defects. We considered successively the effects of cation distribution in the spinel lattice for stoichiometric compounds and of atom substitutions or vacancies. Our calculations demonstrate that a deviation from the perfectly inverse distribution of cations increases the magnetization and decreases the width of the band gap at the Fermi level. In contrast to cation vacancies, oxygen vacancies are not expected to strongly affect the magnetization. We show that NiFe 2 O 4 crystals with an excess of Ni cations can display a spin-polarized hole conductivity. We finally calculated the formation energy of the different defects and we give details on their gap states.