Spontaneous phase segregation of Sr 2 NiO 3 and SrNi 2 O 3 during SrNiO 3 heteroepitaxy
[1];
[1];
[2];
[1];
[4];
[5];
[6];
[8];
[1];
[2];
[9];
[1]
- Physical and Computational Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99354, USA.
- Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117542, Singapore.
- Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology-ICN2, CSIC and BIST, Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.
- NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117456, Singapore.
- Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99354, USA.
- Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China.
- Physical and Computational Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99354, USA., State Key Laboratory of Functional Materials for Informatics, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) , Shanghai 200050, China.
- Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99354, USA.
- X-ray Science Division, Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL 60439, USA.
Recent discovery of superconductivity in Nd0.8Sr0.2NiO2 motivates the synthesis of other nickelates for providing insights into the origin of high-temperature superconductivity. However, the synthesis of stoichiometric R1-xSrxNiO3 thin films over a range of x has proven challenging. Moreover, little is known about the structures and properties of the end member SrNiO3. Here, we show that spontaneous phase segregation occurs while depositing SrNiO3 thin films on perovskite oxide substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. Two coexisting oxygen-deficient Ruddlesden-Popper phases, Sr2NiO3 and SrNi2O3, are formed to balance the stoichiometry and stabilize the energetically preferred Ni2+ cation. Our study sheds light on an unusual oxide thin-film nucleation process driven by the instability in perovskite structured SrNiO3 and the tendency of transition metal cations to form their most stable valence (i.e., Ni2+ in this case). The resulting metastable reduced Ruddlesden-Popper structures offer a testbed for further studying emerging phenomena in nickel-based oxides.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- 10122; 68272; AC02-06CH11357
- OSTI ID:
- 1769466
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1787317
- Journal Information:
- Science Advances, Journal Name: Science Advances Vol. 7 Journal Issue: 10; ISSN 2375-2548
- Publisher:
- American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
High-temperature transport properties, thermal expansion and cathodic performance of Ni-substituted LaSr{sub 2}Mn{sub 2}O{sub 7-{delta}}
Physicochemical compatibility of SrCeO{sub 3} with potential SOFC cathodes