Elastic and Dynamical Properties of YB4: First-Principles Study

We present the elastic and dynamical properties of YB4 from first-principles calculations. It is found that the optimized lattice constants and bulk modulus (182 GPa) agree well with the experimental data. The structural stability of tetragonal YB4 is confirmed by the calculated elastic constants and phonon spectra. YB4 holds a Debye temperature of 874 K and has small elastic anisotropy. The estimated hardness of YB4 is about 17 GPa, indicating that YB4 is a hard solid while not a superhard one.