First-principles screening of structural properties of intermetallic compounds on martensitic transformation

Martensitic transformation with good structural compatibility between parent and martensitic phases are required for shape memory alloys (SMAs) in terms of functional stability. In this study, first-principles-based materials screening is systematically performed to investigate the intermetallic compounds with the martensitic phases by focusing on energetic and dynamical stabilities as well as structural compatibility with the parent phase. The B2, D0(3), and L2(1) crystal structures are considered as the parent phases, and the 2H and 6M structures are considered as the martensitic phases. In total, 3384 binary and 3243 ternary alloys with stoichiometric composition ratios are investigated. It is found that 187 alloys survive after the screening. Some of the surviving alloys are constituted by the chemical elements already widely used in SMAs, but other various metallic elements are also found in the surviving alloys. The energetic stability of the surviving alloys is further analyzed by comparison with the data in Materials Project Database (MPD) to examine the alloys whose martensitic structures may cause further phase separation or transition to the other structures.