Discovery of giant unit-cell super-structure in the infinite-layer nickelate PrNiO2+x
2025

Giant Superstructure in Infinite-Layer Nickelate

publication Evidence: high

Author Information

Author(s): Jens Oppliger, Julia Küspert, Ann-Christin Dippel, Martin v. Zimmermann, Olof Gutowski, Xiaolin Ren, Xingjiang Zhou, Zhihai Zhu, Ruggero Frison, Qisi Wang, Leonardo Martinelli, Izabela Biało, Johan Chang

Primary Institution: Physik-Institut, Universität Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland

Hypothesis

How does in-situ temperature annealing affect the structural properties of the infinite-layer nickelate PrNiO2+x?

Conclusion

The study reveals a giant unit-cell superstructure in PrNiO2+x that emerges upon heating and can be quenched at lower temperatures.

Supporting Evidence

  • The study demonstrates a rare period-six in-plane symmetry and a period-four symmetry in the out-of-plane direction.
  • The giant unit-cell superstructure persists over a large temperature range and can be quenched.
  • High-energy grazing-incidence x-ray diffraction covers a large scattering volume across many Brillouin zones.

Takeaway

When we heat a special material called PrNiO2+x, it changes shape in a big way, and we can freeze that shape by cooling it down.

Methodology

High-energy grazing-incidence x-ray diffraction was used to study the structural changes in PrNiO2+x during in-situ temperature annealing.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1038/s43246-024-00729-4

Want to read the original?

Access the complete publication on the publisher's website

View Original Publication