title: Generalized-stacking-fault energy and twin-boundary energy of hexagonal close-packed Au: A first-principles calculation.
abstract: Although solid Au is usually most stable as a face-centered cubic (fcc) structure, pure hexagonal close-packed (hcp) Au has been successfully fabricated recently. However, the phase stability and mechanical property of this new material are unclear, which may restrict its further applications. Here we present the evidence that hcp → fcc phase transformation can proceed easily in Au by first-principles calculations. The extremely low generalized-stacking-fault (GSF) energy in the basal slip system implies a great tendency to form basal stacking faults, which opens the door to phase transformation from hcp to fcc. Moreover, the Au lattice extends slightly within the superficial layers due to the self-assembly of alkanethiolate species on hcp Au (0001) surface, which may also contribute to the hcp → fcc phase transformation. Compared with hcp Mg, the GSF energies for non-basal slip systems and the twin-boundary (TB) energies for and twins are larger in hcp Au, which indicates the more difficulty in generating non-basal stacking faults and twins. The findings provide new insights for understanding the nature of the hcp → fcc phase transformation and guide the experiments of fabricating and developing materials with new structures.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Automobile Materials of Ministry of Education &School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanling Campus, Jilin University, No. 5988 Renmin Street, Changchun 130025, PR China.
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Automobile Materials of Ministry of Education &School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanling Campus, Jilin University, No. 5988 Renmin Street, Changchun 130025, PR China.
authors.forename: Huiyuan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Automobile Materials of Ministry of Education &School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanling Campus, Jilin University, No. 5988 Renmin Street, Changchun 130025, PR China.
authors.forename: Tianlong
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Automobile Materials of Ministry of Education &School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanling Campus, Jilin University, No. 5988 Renmin Street, Changchun 130025, PR China.
authors.forename: Xuena
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Automobile Materials of Ministry of Education &School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanling Campus, Jilin University, No. 5988 Renmin Street, Changchun 130025, PR China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Automobile Materials of Ministry of Education &School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanling Campus, Jilin University, No. 5988 Renmin Street, Changchun 130025, PR China.
authors.forename: Qichuan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Jiang