First-principles investigation of the electronic, elastic and thermodynamic properties of VC under high pressure

An investigation of the electronic, elastic and thermodynamic properties of VC under high pressure has been conducted using first-principles calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) with the plane-wave basis set, as implemented in the CASTEP code. At elevated pressures, VC is predicted to undergo a structural transition from a relatively open NaCl-type structure to a more dense CsCl-type one. The predicted transition pressure is 520 GPa. The elastic constant, Debye temperature and heat capacity each as a function of pressure and/or temperature of VC are presented for the first time.