A total of 87 new monoclinic silicon allotropes are systematically scanned by a random strategy combined with group and graph theory and high-throughput calculations. The new allotropes include 13 with a direct or quasi-direct band gap and 12 with metallic characteristics, and the rest are indirect band gap semiconductors. More than 30 of these novel monoclinic Si allotropes show bulk moduli greater than or equal to 80 GPa, and three of them show even greater bulk moduli than diamond Si. Only two of the new Si allotropes show a greater shear modulus than diamond Si. The crystal structures, stability (elastic constants, phonon spectra), mechanical properties, electronic properties, effective carrier masses and optical properties of all 87 Si monoclinic allotropes are studied in detail. The electron effective masses ml of five of the new allotropes are smaller than that of diamond Si. All of these novel monoclinic Si allotropes show strong absorption in the visible spectral region. Taken together with their electronic band gap structures, this makes them promising materials for photovoltaic applications. These investigations greatly enrich the current knowledge of the structure and electronic properties of silicon allotropes.
Keywords: crystal design; crystal structure prediction; density functional theory; electronic properties; high-throughput calculations; monoclinic symmetry; photovoltaic applications; properties of solids; silicon allotropes.
open access.