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Abstract Copper alloys show a structural variability leading to a range of diverse electronic, transport, and mechanical properties. Here, we investigate the influence of the type and amount of alloying on the electronic transport properties across copper alloys. Specifically, we investigate the electronic transmission along copper in its fcc crystal structure. The characteristic change when adding impurities, such as nickel, aluminum, and silicon in the structure and transport properties is assessed through density functional theory calculations together with the non-equilibrium Greens functions approach. The results are analyzed with respect to the structural characteristics, the electronic and transport properties in these alloys for different concentrations of the impurities. A clear trend in the electronic transmission, thus the conductance, along these materials was found with the addition of certain impurities and their clusters. Coherent with experimental observations, we conclude that the higher the concentration of the impurities, the lower the electronic transmission along the alloys as compared to a pure copper crystal. Furthermore, we show that the bonding environment in the impurity clusters can be associated to additional valence states and significantly influences the conductance. In the end, we discuss the relevance of our results for practical applications. Highlights • Impurities enhance valence band of alloy. • Conductance decrease of Cu alloy pronounced for Si. • Impurity clusters enhance Cu alloy conductance. • High impurity concentration decreases the conductance of Co alloys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Co(0001)/TaC(01 2 ¯) interfaces with Re impurities are investigated using the plane-wave pseudopotential method within density functional theory. Two interface configurations and several interfacial sites for Re impurities are considered. The calculations reveal that Re doping can lead to more favourable interfaces with lower interface energies. It is shown that the decrease of interface energy can be understood from the electronic structure. Analyses of bond lengths, overlap populations, charge density distributions and densities of state demonstrate the importance of C-Co and C-Re bonds across the interface. Image 1 • Interfacial Re impurities increase interface strength. • Increased interface strength is mainly caused by strong C-Re covalent bonds. • Most favourable configuration of Co/TaC interface is changed by Re doping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]