We present a first-principles investigation of the structural,
electronic, and magnetic properties of the pristine and Fe-doped α-MnO2 using density-functional theory with extended Hubbard functionals.
The onsite U and intersite V Hubbard
parameters are determined from first-principles and self-consistently
using density-functional perturbation theory in the basis of Löwdin-orthogonalized
atomic orbitals. For the pristine α-MnO2 we find
that the so-called C2-AFM spin configuration is the most energetically
favorable, in agreement with the experimentally observed antiferromagnetic
ground state. For the Fe-doped α-MnO2 two types of
doping are considered: Fe insertion in the 2 ×
2 tunnels and partial substitution of Fe for Mn. We
find that the interstitial doping preserves the C2-AFM spin configuration
of the host lattice only when both onsite U and intersite V Hubbard corrections are included, while for the substitutional
doping the onsite Hubbard U correction alone is able
to preserve the C2-AFM spin configuration of the host lattice. The
oxidation state of Fe is found to be +2 and +4 in the case of the
interstitial and substitutional doping, respectively, while the oxidation
state of Mn is +4 in both cases. This work paves the way for accurate
studies of other MnO2 polymorphs and complex transition-metal
compounds when the localization of 3d electrons occurs
in the presence of strong covalent interactions with ligands.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.