Phase and d-d hybridization control via electron count for material property control in the X2FeAl material class

•First-principles calculations performed for XA and L21 phases across X2FeAl series.•The degree of d-d orbital hybridization drives magnetic and electronic properties.•Increasing X-site valence electron counts result in increased hybridization levels.•Orbital hybridization trends must be considered when predicting material properties. First-principles calculations are performed for full (L21) and inverse (XA) Heusler compounds X2FeAl, where X comprise a range of 3d (Sc, Ti, V, Cr), 4d (Y, Zr, Nb, Mo), and 5d (Hf, Ta, W) early and middle column transition metal elements. The formation energy difference between full and inverse phase and the degree of d-d orbital hybridization with increasing total valence electron count are shown to drive the magnetic properties (total and atomic magnetic moments, spin polarization) and electronic properties (band structure and projected density of states) of the material system. Specifically, X-site atomic magnetic moments take on increasingly Fe character with increasing valence electron count, in both full and inverse Heusler phases. This can be explained by changes on the degree of d-d hybridization between X- and Fe-site d orbitals. Synchronized energy shifts in the PDOS of the X- and Y-sites (Fe) across each of the full and inverse Heusler series provide us insight to controlling spin polarization via composition. This work demonstrates the need to holistically study the thermodynamic phase stability, magnetic moments, and spin polarization of Heusler alloys, in the framework of anti-site disorder and in a wider compositional context. The end goal of this study is to benefit the mapping of experimental results in search of a specific property, by providing a methodology for extrapolating properties based on experimental or theoretical results.