A Strong Dependence of the P-P Bond Length on the Transition Metal Component in ThCr2Si2-Type Phosphides CaM2P2 (M = Fe, Ni): The Influence of d Band Position and σp* Mixing

An analysis of the bonding situation in CaM₂P₂ (M=Fe, Ni) with ThCr₂Si₂ structure is made in terms of DOS and COOP plots. The main contributions to covalent bonding are due to M-P and P-P interactions in both compounds. Particularly, the interlayer P-P bonding by variation in the transition metal is examined in more detail. It turns out that the shorter P-P bonds in CaNi₂P₂ form as a result of the decreasing electron delocalization into ${{\sigma}_p}^*$ of P₂ due to the weaker bonding interaction between the metal d and ${{\sigma}_p}^*$ as the metal d band is falling from Fe to Ni.