I06-Nanoscience
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M.
Ghidini
,
R.
Mansell
,
F.
Maccherozzi
,
X.
Moya
,
L. C.
Phillips
,
W.
Yan
,
D.
Pesquera
,
C. H. W.
Barnes
,
R. P.
Cowburn
,
J.-m.
Hu
,
S. S.
Dhesi
,
N. D.
Mathur
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[8876]
Abstract: Large changes in the magnetization of ferromagnetic films can be electrically driven by non-180° ferroelectric domain switching in underlying substrates, but the shear components of the strains that mediate these magnetoelectric effects have not been considered so far. Here we reveal the presence of these shear strains in a polycrystalline film of Ni on a 0.68Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.32PbTiO3 substrate in the pseudo-cubic (011)pc orientation. Although vibrating sample magnetometry records giant magnetoelectric effects that are consistent with the hitherto expected 90° rotations of a global magnetic easy axis, high-resolution vector maps of magnetization (constructed from photoemission electron microscopy data, with contrast from X-ray magnetic circular dichroism) reveal that the local magnetization typically rotates through smaller angles of 62–84°. This shortfall with respect to 90° is a consequence of the shear strain associated with ferroelectric domain switching. The non-orthogonality represents both a challenge and an opportunity for the development and miniaturization of magnetoelectric devices.
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May 2019
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I19-Small Molecule Single Crystal Diffraction
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[9816, 8945]
Abstract: The synthesis of conventional porous crystals involves building a framework using reversible chemical bond formation, which can result in hydrolytic instability. In contrast, porous molecular crystals assemble using only weak intermolecular interactions, which generally do not provide the same environmental stability. Here, we report that the simple co-crystallization of a phthalocyanine derivative and a fullerene (C60 or C70) forms porous molecular crystals with environmental stability towards high temperature and hot aqueous base or acid. Moreover, by using diamond anvil cells and synchrotron single-crystal measurements, stability towards extreme pressure (>4 GPa) is demonstrated, with the stabilizing fullerene held between two phthalocyanines and the hold tightening at high pressure. Access to open metal centres within the porous molecular co-crystal is demonstrated by in situ crystallographic analysis of the chemisorption of pyridine, oxygen and carbon monoxide. This suggests strategies for the formation of highly stable and potentially functional porous materials using only weak van der Waals intermolecular interactions.
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May 2019
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I15-Extreme Conditions
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Remo N.
Widmer
,
Giulio I.
Lampronti
,
Simone
Anzellini
,
Romain
Gaillac
,
Stefan
Farsang
,
Chao
Zhou
,
Ana M.
Belenguer
,
Craig
Wilson
,
Hannah
Palmer
,
Annette K.
Kleppe
,
Michael T.
Wharmby
,
Xiao
Yu
,
Seth M.
Cohen
,
Shane G.
Telfer
,
Simon A. T.
Redfern
,
François-xavier
Coudert
,
Simon
Macleod
,
Thomas
Bennett
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[16133, 19046]
Abstract: Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are microporous materials with huge potential for chemical processes. Structural collapse at high pressure, and transitions to liquid states at high temperature, have recently been observed in the zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF) family of MOFs. Here, we show that simultaneous high-pressure and high-temperature conditions result in complex behaviour in ZIF-62 and ZIF-4, with distinct high- and low-density amorphous phases occurring over different regions of the pressure–temperature phase diagram. In situ powder X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and optical microscopy reveal that the stability of the liquid MOF state expands substantially towards lower temperatures at intermediate, industrially achievable pressures and first-principles molecular dynamics show that softening of the framework coordination with pressure makes melting thermodynamically easier. Furthermore, the MOF glass formed by melt quenching the high-temperature liquid possesses permanent, accessible porosity. Our results thus imply a route to the synthesis of functional MOF glasses at low temperatures, avoiding decomposition on heating at ambient pressure.
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Mar 2019
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Abstract: The concepts of oxidation state and atomic charge are entangled in modern materials science. We distinguish between these quantities and consider their fundamental limitations and utility for understanding material properties. We discuss the nature of bonding between atoms and the techniques that have been developed for partitioning electron density. While formal oxidation states help us count electrons (in ions, bonds, lone pairs), variously defined atomic charges are usefully employed in the description of physical processes including dielectric response and electronic spectroscopies. Such partial charges are introduced as quantitative measures in simple mechanistic models of a more complex reality, and therefore may not be comparable or transferable. In contrast, oxidation states are defined to be universal, with deviations constituting exciting challenges as evidenced in mixed-valence compounds, electrides and highly correlated systems. This Perspective covers how these concepts have evolved in recent years, our current understanding and their significance.
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Oct 2018
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I05-ARPES
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[12969, 16433]
Abstract: Electrons in a Dirac semimetals possess linear dispersion in all three spatial dimensions, and form part of a developing platform of novel quantum materials. Bi$_{1-x}$Sb$_x$ supports a three-dimensional Dirac cone at the Sb-induced band inversion point. Nanoscale phase-sensitive junction technology is used to induce superconductivity in this Dirac semimetal. Radio frequency irradiation experiments reveal a significant contribution of 4$\pi$-periodic Andreev bound states to the supercurrent in Nb-Bi$_{0.97}$Sb$_{0.03}$-Nb Josephson junctions. The conditions for a substantial $4\pi$ contribution to the supercurrent are favourable because of the Dirac cone's topological protection against backscattering, providing very broad transmission resonances. The large g-factor of the Zeeman effect from a magnetic field applied in the plane of the junction, allows tuning of the Josephson junctions from 0 to $\pi$ regimes.
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Oct 2018
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I06-Nanoscience
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F. P.
Chmiel
,
N.
Waterfield Price
,
R. D.
Johnson
,
A. D.
Lamirand
,
J.
Schad
,
Gerrit
Van Der Laan
,
D. T.
Harris
,
J.
Irwin
,
M. S.
Rzchowski
,
C.-b.
Eom
,
Paolo
Radaelli
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[16338, 15088]
Abstract: Vortices, occurring whenever a flow field ‘whirls’ around a one-dimensional core, are among the simplest topological structures, ubiquitous to many branches of physics. In the crystalline state, vortex formation is rare, since it is generally hampered by long-range interactions: in ferroic materials (ferromagnetic and ferroelectric), vortices are observed only when the effects of the dipole–dipole interaction are modified by confinement at the nanoscale1,2,3, or when the parameter associated with the vorticity does not couple directly with strain4. Here, we observe an unprecedented form of vortices in antiferromagnetic haematite (α-Fe2O3) epitaxial films, in which the primary whirling parameter is the staggered magnetization. Remarkably, ferromagnetic topological objects with the same vorticity and winding number as the α-Fe2O3 vortices are imprinted onto an ultra-thin Co ferromagnetic over-layer by interfacial exchange. Our data suggest that the ferromagnetic vortices may be merons (half-skyrmions, carrying an out-of plane core magnetization), and indicate that the vortex/meron pairs can be manipulated by the application of an in-plane magnetic field, giving rise to large-scale vortex–antivortex annihilation.
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Jun 2018
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I05-ARPES
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Abstract: Two-dimensional (2D) crystals have emerged as a class of materials with tunable carrier density1. Carrier doping to 2D semiconductors can be used to modulate many-body interactions2 and to explore novel composite particles. The Holstein polaron is a small composite particle of an electron that carries a cloud of self-induced lattice deformation (or phonons)3,4,5, which has been proposed to play a key role in high-temperature superconductivity6 and carrier mobility in devices7. Here we report the discovery of Holstein polarons in a surface-doped layered semiconductor, MoS2, in which a puzzling 2D superconducting dome with the critical temperature of 12 K was found recently8,9,10,11. Using a high-resolution band mapping of charge carriers, we found strong band renormalizations collectively identified as a hitherto unobserved spectral function of Holstein polarons12,13,14,15,16,17,18. The short-range nature of electron–phonon (e–ph) coupling in MoS2 can be explained by its valley degeneracy, which enables strong intervalley coupling mediated by acoustic phonons. The coupling strength is found to increase gradually along the superconducting dome up to the intermediate regime, which suggests a bipolaronic pairing in the 2D superconductivity.
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May 2018
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E01-JEM ARM 200CF
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Abstract: In the past decades, many efforts have been devoted to characterizing {001} platelet defects in type Ia diamond. It is known that N is concentrated at the defect core. However, an accurate description of the atomic structure of the defect and the role that N plays in it is still unknown. Here, by using aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy and electron energy-loss spectroscopy we have determined the atomic arrangement within platelet defects in a natural type Ia diamond and matched it to a prevalent theoretical model. The platelet has an anisotropic atomic structure with a zigzag ordering of defect pairs along the defect line. The electron energy-loss near-edge fine structure of both carbon K- and nitrogen K-edges obtained from the platelet core is consistent with a trigonal bonding arrangement at interstitial sites. The experimental observations support an interstitial aggregate mode of formation for platelet defects in natural diamond.
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Feb 2018
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I05-ARPES
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M. S.
Bahramy
,
O. J.
Clark
,
B.-j.
Yang
,
J.
Feng
,
L.
Bawden
,
J. M.
Riley
,
I.
Markovic
,
F.
Mazzola
,
V.
Sunko
,
D.
Biswas
,
S. P.
Cooil
,
M.
Jorge
,
J. W.
Wells
,
M.
Leandersson
,
T.
Balasubramanian
,
J.
Fujii
,
I.
Vobornik
,
J. E.
Rault
,
T. K.
Kim
,
M.
Hoesch
,
K.
Okawa
,
M.
Asakawa
,
T.
Sasagawa
,
T.
Eknapakul
,
W.
Meevasana
,
P. D. C.
King
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[2469, 9500, 13438, 14927]
Abstract: Transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are renowned for their rich and varied bulk properties, while their single-layer variants have become one of the most prominent examples of two-dimensional materials beyond graphene. Their disparate ground states largely depend on transition metal d-electron-derived electronic states, on which the vast majority of attention has been concentrated to date. Here, we focus on the chalcogen-derived states. From density-functional theory calculations together with spin- and angle-resolved photoemission, we find that these generically host a co-existence of type-I and type-II three-dimensional bulk Dirac fermions as well as ladders of topological surface states and surface resonances. We demonstrate how these naturally arise within a single p-orbital manifold as a general consequence of a trigonal crystal field, and as such can be expected across a large number of compounds. Already, we demonstrate their existence in six separate TMDs, opening routes to tune, and ultimately exploit, their topological physics.
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Nov 2017
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I15-1-X-ray Pair Distribution Function (XPDF)
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[15676]
Abstract: Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are a family of chemically diverse materials, with applications in a wide range of fields, covering engineering, physics, chemistry, biology and medicine. Until recently, research has focused almost entirely on crystalline structures, yet now a clear trend is emerging, shifting the emphasis onto disordered states, including ‘defective by design’ crystals, as well as amorphous phases such as glasses and gels. Here we introduce a strongly associated MOF liquid, obtained by melting a zeolitic imidazolate framework. We combine in situ variable temperature X-ray, ex situ neutron pair distribution function experiments, and first-principles molecular dynamics simulations to study the melting phenomenon and the nature of the liquid obtained. We demonstrate from structural, dynamical, and thermodynamical information that the chemical configuration, coordinative bonding, and porosity of the parent crystalline framework survive upon formation of the MOF liquid.
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Oct 2017
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