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Discovering Superhard B-N-O Compounds by Iterative Machine Learning and Evolutionary Structure Predictions

25 Nov 2021arXiv:2111.12923links table onlyarchive 2025-07-28

Wei-Chih Chen, Yogesh K. Vohra, Cheng-Chien Chen

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We search for new superhard B-N-O compounds with an iterative machine learning (ML) procedure, where ML models are trained using sample crystal structures from evolutionary algorithm. We first use cohesive energy to evaluate the thermodynamic stability of varying BₓN_yO_z compositions, and then gradually focus on compositional regions with high cohesive energy and high hardness. The results converge quickly after a few iterations. Our resulting ML models show that Bₓ₊₂NₓO₃ compounds with x ≥3 (like B₅N₃O₃, B₆N₄O₃, etc.) are potentially superhard and thermodynamically favorable. Our meta-GGA density functional theory calculations indicate that these materials are also wide bandgap (≥4.4 eV) insulators, with the valence band maximum related to the p-orbitals of nitrogen atoms near vacant sites. This study demonstrates that an iterative method combining ML and ab initio simulations provides a powerful tool for discovering novel materials.

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