Insight into structural stability and helium diffusion behavior of Fe–Cr alloys from first-principles

We have performed the first-principles method to study the structural stability and helium diffusion behavior of Fe–Cr alloys. The calculated bulk modulus of 284.935 GPa in the non-magnetic (NM) state is in good agreement with others. We have obtained solid evidence that the alloy structures meet the mechanical stability criteria and lattice dynamics conditions in the anti-ferromagnetism (AFM) and non-magnetic (NM) states. Compared with bulk γ-Fe, a slightly larger Young's modulus indicates that the doping of Cr helps to enhance the stiffness of the material and the ability to resist the reversible deformation of shear stress, but the ductility decreased slightly. Our results revealed that the addition of interstitial He atom promotes the expansion and deformation of the lattice, and further enlarges the cell volume. The presence of Cr in the alloy structures promotes the migration of a single helium atom between octahedral interstitials, and at the same time, inhibits the diffusion of helium atoms between tetrahedral interstitials to a large extent, which seem to be trapped in tetrahedral interstitials and cannot escape. The electronic properties show that the alloy materials exhibit obvious metallicity, and the doping of Cr generates an impurity state at lower energy, which is mainly formed by the s, p of Fe and s, p shell electrons of Cr. The charge density difference graphs corroborate that there is bonding interactions between Fe and Cr atoms. Bader charge analysis shows that a stronger polar covalent bond is formed between Fe and Cr in the non-magnetic (NM) state than in the anti-ferromagnetism (AFM) state. Our results provide useful information for understanding the initial growth of helium bubbles in experiments.