No Arabic abstract
SrRh2As2 exhibits structural phase transitions reminiscent to those of BaFe2As2, but crystallizes with three polymorphs derived from the tetragonal ThCr2Si2-type structure. The structure of alpha-SrRh2As2 is monoclinic with a = 421.2(1) pm, b = 1105.6(2) pm, c = 843.0(1) pm and beta = 95{deg} and was refined as a partially pseudo meroedric twin in the space group P21/c with R1 = 0.0928. beta-SrRh2As2 crystallizes with a modulated structure in the (3+1) dimensional superspace group Fmmm(10gamma)sigma 00 with the unit cell parameters a = 1114.4(3) pm, b = 574.4(2) pm and c = 611.5(2) pm and an incommensurable modulation vector q = (1, 0, 0.3311(4)). High temperature single crystal diffraction experiments confirm the tetragonal ThCr2Si2-type structure for gamma-SrRh2As2 above 350{deg}C. Electronic band structure calculations indicate that the structural distortion in alpha-SrRh2As2 is caused by strong Rh-Rh bonding interactions and has no magnetic origin as suggested for isotypic BaFe2As2.
We have investigated structural and magnetic phase transitions under high pressures in a quaternary rare earth transition metal arsenide oxide NdCoAsO compound that is isostructural to high temperature superconductor NdFeAsO. Four-probe electrical resistance measurements carried out in a designer diamond anvil cell show that the ferromagnetic Curie temperature and anti-ferromagnetic Neel temperature increase with an increase in pressure. High pressure x-ray diffraction studies using a synchrotron source show a structural phase transition from a tetragonal phase to a new crystallographic phase at a pressure of 23 GPa at 300 K. The NdCoAsO sample remained anti-ferromagnetic and non-superconducting to temperatures down to 10 K and to the highest pressure achieved in this experiment of 53 GPa. A P-T phase diagram for NdCoAsO is presented to a pressure of 53 GPa and low temperatures of 10 K.
Recently, natural van der Waals heterostructures of (MnBi2Te4)m(Bi2Te3)n have been theoretically predicted and experimentally shown to host tunable magnetic properties and topologically nontrivial surface states. In this work, we systematically investigate both the structural and electronic responses of MnBi2Te4 and MnBi4Te7 to external pressure. In addition to the suppression of antiferromagnetic order, MnBi2Te4 is found to undergo a metal-semiconductor-metal transition upon compression. The resistivity of MnBi4Te7 changes dramatically under high pressure and a non-monotonic evolution of r{ho}(T) is observed. The nontrivial topology is proved to persists before the structural phase transition observed in the high-pressure regime. We find that the bulk and surface states respond differently to pressure, which is consistent with the non-monotonic change of the resistivity. Interestingly, a pressure-induced amorphous state is observed in MnBi2Te4, while two high pressure phase transitions are revealed in MnBi4Te7. Our combined theoretical and experimental research establishes MnBi2Te4 and MnBi4Te7 as highly tunable magnetic topological insulators, in which phase transitions and new ground states emerge upon compression.
Transition-metal-dichalcogenides own a variety of structures as well as electronic properties which can be modulated by structural variations, element substitutions, ion or molecule intercalations, etc. However, there is very limited knowledge on metastable phases of this family, especially the precise regulation of structural changes and accompanied evolution of electronic properties. Here, based on a new developed field-effect transistor with solid ion conductor as the gate dielectric, we report a controllable structural and electronic phase transitions in metastable MoS$_2$ thin flakes driven by electric field. We found that the metastable structure of 1T$^{}$-MoS$_2$ thin flake can be transformed into another metastable structure of 1T$^{}$ -type upon intercalation of lithium regulated by electric field. Moreover, the metastable 1T$^{}$ phase persists during the cycle of intercalation and de-intercalation of lithium controlled by electric field, and the electronic properties can be reversibly manipulated with a remarkable change of resistance by four orders of magnitude from the insulating 1T$^{}$-LiMoS$_2$ to superconducting 1T$^{}$-MoS$_2$. Such reversible and dramatic changes in electronic properties provide intriguing opportunities for development of novel nano-devices with highly tunable characteristics under electric field.
We study the origin of the cubic to tetragonal and tetragonal to monoclinic structural transitions in KCrF3, and the associated change in orbital order, paying particular attention to the relevance of super-exchange in both phases. We show that super-exchange is not the main mechanism driving these transitions. Specifically, it is not strong enough to be responsible for the high-temperature cubic to tetragonal transition and does not yield the type of orbital order observed in the monoclinic phase. The energy difference between the tetragonal and the monoclinic structure is tiny, and most likely results from the interplay between volume, covalency, and localization effects. The transition is rather driven by Slater exchange than super-exchange. Nevertheless, once the monoclinic distortions are present, super-exchange helps in stabilizing the low symmetry structure. The orbital order we obtain for this monoclinic phase is consistent with the magnetic transition at 80 K.
High pressure electrical resistance and x-ray diffraction measurements have been performed on ruthenium-doped Ba(Fe0.9Ru0.1)2As2, up to pressures of 32 GPa and down to temperatures of 10 K, using designer diamond anvils under quasi-hydrostatic conditions. At 3.9 GPa, there is an evidence of pressure-induced superconductivity with Tc onset of 24 K and zero resistance at Tc zero of ~14.5 K. The superconducting transition temperature reaches maximum at ~5.5 GPa and then decreases gradually with increase in pressure before completely disappearing above 11.5 GPa. Upon increasing pressure at 200 K, an isostructural phase transition from a tetragonal (I4/mmm) phase to a collapsed tetragonal phase is observed at 14 GPa and the collapsed phase persists up to at least 30 GPa. The changes in the unit cell dimensions are highly anisotropic across the phase transition and are qualitatively similar to those observed in undoped BaFe2As2 parent.