Abstract
First principle periodic density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been performed to understand the electronic structure, chemical bonding, phase transition, and physical properties of the zircon (in the chemical composition of ZrSiO4) and its high pressure phase reidite. Temperature effect on phase transition and thermal-mechanical properties such as heat capacity and bulk modulus have been studied by combining the equation of states obtained from DFT calculations with the quasi-harmonic Debye model to take into account the entropy contribution to free energy. Local density approximation (LDA) and generalized gradient approximation (GGA) DFT functionals have been systematically compared in predicting the structure and property of this material. It is found that the LDA functional provides a better description of the equilibrium structure and bulk modulus, while GGA predicts a transition pressure closer to experimental values. Both functionals correctly predict the relative stability of the two phases, with GGA giving slightly larger energy differences. The calculated band structures show that both zircon and reidite have indirect bandgaps and the reidite phase has a narrower bandgap than the zircon phase. The atomic charges determined using the Bader method show that bonding in reidite has a stronger covalent character.