Stability, electronic band structure, magnetic, optical and thermoelectric properties of CoXCrZ (X = Fe, Mn and Z = Al, Si) and FeMnCrSb quaternary Heusler

Ab-initio simulations based on density functional theory as contained in the WIEN2k code using GGA, GGA+U, and mBJ approximations were used to perform the calculations. The energy of cohesion is minimal for FeMnCrSb, indicating that it is the most stable structure, with a lattice constant of 5.95 angstrom and 6.2184 angstrom for GGA and GGA+U. The ferromagnetic state is less stable than ferrimagnetic states in all studied quaternary Heusler. All the band structures are metallic, with the exception of the spin up case using GGA+U and mBJ approaches, where the semiconducting character is predicted. The amount of absorption and band gap validates the candidature of CoFeCrAl, CoFeMnSi, CoMnCrSi, and FeMnCrSb as absorber materials for photovoltaic devices. The high values of 0.8, 0.9, 0.95 and 1 for figure of merit (ZT) at 300 K were obtained for CoFeMnSi, CoFeCrAl, CoMnCrSi, and FeMnCrSb allowing their use in spintronic and thermoelectric applications. The resistivity of studied quaternary alloys is little sensitive to the temperature, while the electronic conductivity and power factor are proportional to the temperature.