本项目以超硬过渡金属（Cr，Mn, Fe）硼化物TMBn (n=2-4)为研究对象，具体针对超硬过渡金属硼化物的结构特征和影响硬度的微观机理这一关键性科学问题展开研究。本项目拟采用基于粒子群优化算法的晶体结构预测方法和基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理计算。研究内容包括：超硬过渡金属（Cr，Mn, Fe）硼化物TMBn (n=2-4)的结构特征；预测结构的相稳定性、高压下的相变序列和可能的合成路径；过渡金属硼化物的超硬性和影响硬度的微观机理。本项目不仅为探明目前实验尚未合成的过渡金属硼化物的结构特征和相稳定性提供可能的理论参考，而且还为理解影响过渡金属硼化物硬度的微观机理提供有价值的理论依据，为探寻新型超硬材料指明方向，这对推动原子分子物理和凝聚态物理的交叉发展具有重要的科学意义。

Transition metal borides are regarded as the most promising candidates of superhard materials. This interest of designing newly superhard materials is motivated by the technological requirement and need for physically and chemically resistant materials for cutting tools and wear coatings, overcoming the technological limits of applicability of diamond and cubic boron nitride, used for processing and polishing of iron-based alloys. This is reflected in the variety of scientific problems that are the focus of the intersection between and atomic and molecular physics and condensed matter physics. The understanding of the micromechanism of hardness is a typical example of physical problems. .The objective of this project is to study the structural features, phase stability and hardness of transition metal (Cr, Mn, Fe) borides TMBn (n=2-4). It concretely aims at the key scientific problems regarding the design and synthesis of the novel superhard materials. Using the particle swarm optimization technique on crystal structure coupling method combing with the first principles calculations, the main research content of this project includes three aspects as follow: 1) the structural features of superhard transition metal borides; 2) the phase stability of the predicted structure and the corresponding pressure-induced structural transition sequences; 3) the potential superhard behavior of transition metal borides and the main influence factors of the hardness micromechanism. This research is not only to explore the structural features and phase stability of transition metal borides which have been not synthesized at present experiment, but also provides valuable theoretical basis on understanding the micromechanism of hardness and superhard behavior of transition metal light element compound. It has important scientific significance in the development of the cross field between atomic and molecular physics and condensed matter physics.