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Results for “lattice deformation”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Mesoscale interplay among composition heterogeneity, lattice deformation, and redox stratification in single-crystalline layered oxide cathode

Single-crystalline layered oxide materials for lithium-ion batteries are featured by their excellent capacity retention over their polycrystalline counterparts, making them sought-after cathode candidates. Their capacity degradation, however, becomes more severe under high-voltage cycling, hindering many high-energy applications. It has long been speculated that the interplay among composition heterogeneity, lattice deformation, and redox stratification could be a driving force for the performance decay. The underlying mechanism, however, is not well-understood. In this study, we use X-ray microscopy to systematically examine single-crystalline NMC particles at the mesoscale. This technique allows us to capture detailed signals of diffraction, spectroscopy, and fluorescence, offering spatially resolved multimodal insights. Focusing on early high-voltage charging cycles, we uncover heterogeneities in valence states and lattice structures that are inherent rather than caused by electrochemical abuse. These heterogeneities are closely associated with compositional variations within individual particles. Our findings provide useful insights for refining material synthesis and processing for enhanced battery longevity and efficiency.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Local Lattice Deformation of Tellurene Grain Boundaries by Four-Dimensional Electron Microscopy

Two-dimensional (2D) tellurene is a promising competitor for the fabrication of ultrathin optoelectronic devices belonging to a new family of monoelemental 2D materials. Furthermore, the precise fabrication and characterization of tellurene and its lattice defects is of utmost importance to determine device reliability and predict functionality, yet it remains experimentally challenging. The rapid growth of the four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D-STEM) technique as well as postprocessing tools now allows for structural analysis with nanometer-scale resolution over a broad range of length scales. Here, we use 4D-STEM to reveal the three-dimensional (3D) atomic structure of the characteristic grain boundary in 2D tellurium formed through a new microwave-enabled chemical self-assembly. Strain and lattice parameter maps permit the reconstruction of the roughness of the grain boundary and suggest that its formation is promoted by a wedge of helical atomic chains along the [0001] crystallographic direction. The observation of wrinkles at the grain boundary is found to be the dominant relaxation mechanism. Insights into the formation mechanism are elucidated by mapping the lattice parameters as the first demonstration of local in-plane and out-of-plane unit cell variation in a nanometer-by-nanometer real-space array.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Transient X-ray Diffraction Reveals Nonequilibrium Phase Transition in Thin Films of CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 Perovskite

Advantageous optoelectronic properties of methylammonium lead triiodide likely arise from coupling between photogenerated charge-carriers and the soft, deformable lattice. We investigate structural dynamics of MAPbI 3 films using time-resolved X-ray diffraction versus pump-probe time delay and pump intensity. During the first nanosecond, the lattice anisotropically distorts from tetragonal to cubic at excitation intensities that are insufficient to thermally induce the first-order thermodynamic phase transition at 330K. Further, the high-symmetry structure then relaxes back to the starting phase with 11 and 236-ns time constants via a different transition pathway than observed either in the first nanosecond or in previous reports for MAPbI 3 . Early-time dynamics are consistent with polaron formation and lattice strain stabilization while the slower recovery dynamics outlive radiative recombination and relates metastability. Fluence-independence of these lattice deformations in the low-power regime conveys relevance to optoelectronics including photovoltaics and highlights sustained involvement of non-equilibrium, photoinduced lattice reorganization in MAPbI 3 under functional conditions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Multiwavelength anomalous X-ray diffraction for combined imaging of atomic displacement and strain

The X-ray Bragg coherent diffractive imaging (CDI) technique assumes that the structure factor holds constant over the measured crystal. This approximation breaks down for materials exhibiting variations in the unit-cell configuration, such as piezo- and ferroelectrics. In that case, the strain field cannot be reliably determined from the reconstruction because the lattice deformation and the structure factor contribute concomitantly. Proposed here is a solution to this problem achieved by combining Bragg CDI and the multiwavelength anomalous diffraction approach that measures a Friedel pair of reflections at two different photon energies near an absorption edge. Comparing the obtained reconstructions with a parametric model that includes calculating the scattering amplitude as a function of wavelength and the unit-cell configuration, the contributions of the lattice deformation and the structure factor are separated. Simulations of the ferroelectric material BaTiO 3 demonstrate the possibility of simultaneous probing of the strain and displacement of the Ti atoms. The proposed method opens up an opportunity to apply coherent X-ray diffraction for nanoscale-resolved 3D mapping of polarization domains in micro- and nanocrystals.

lattice deformation↗
DOE OSTI2025

Dislocation‐Driven Formation of Oriented Macroperiodic Metastructures of Curved Single Crystal Lattices in Glass

Abstract Single crystals fabricated in glass by localized heating can develop uniquely deformed lattices stabilized by the surrounding amorphous medium. The development of lattice curvature appears to be intrinsic to the crystal growth process in some systems, while the result of the locally changing crystallography in others. In this work, a model laser‐fabricated rotating lattice Sb 2 S 3 crystal grown in stoichiometric glass is used to demonstrate fabrication of novel macroperiodic metastructures that utilize intrinsic lattice curvature superimposed with subtle crystallographic influences. The limited availability of slip systems drives the lattice curvature magnitude to vary with crystal growth direction, maximizing for lattices aligned with the predominant Burgers vector along with corresponding increases in dislocation density. Misaligned lattice orientations form smaller secondary lattice curvatures arising from misaligned Burgers vectors with further elastic contributions. Over extended crystal growth, these secondary components align the lattice to rotate about either the <001> or <010> crystal axes forming repeating metastructures of lattice orientation with periodicity 20–160 microns in length. The mechanistic approach used in this work may be expanded to other systems with known slip systems to better understand and design macroperiodic metastructures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Stressing Halide Perovskites with Light and Electric Fields

Understanding the light and electric field-induced effects underlying the local changes in optoelectronic properties in lead halide perovskites is crucial to establish a detailed structure–function relationship. Here, in this study, we use single-molecule absorption scanning tunneling microscopy (SMA-STM) to probe the local surface inhomogeneity of a mixed A-site cation/mixed halide perovskite under pulsed 532 nm photoexcitation to gain insight into the varying grain-to-grain absorption behavior at the nanoscale and reduction in the electronic bandgap under illumination. To correlate the observed changes in the absorption signal to structural ones, we utilize synchrotron X-ray STM (SX-STM) where we find that photoexcitation induces changes in the X-ray absorption spectral signatures. Lastly, using pump–probe time-resolved wide-angle X-ray scattering, we show the presence of nonthermal lattice deformations upon photoexcitation which indicate that the excited photocarriers distort the perovskite lattice, corroborating the local electronic changes observed by our STM measurements.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

Morphology, Deformations, and Photocatalytic Activity of Thermally Treated Brookite Titanium Dioxide Thin Films

Metastable states, in which the coupling between long-range lattice deformations and electronic properties can be controlled, provide a pathway to tailoring the behavior of photocatalytic materials by directing the flow of photoinduced charge carriers. Brookite is a metastable polymorph of earth-abundant TiO 2 that exhibits photocatalytic function and, due to its high energy relative to the anatase and rutile polymorphs, may serve as a precursor for the formation of transitional metastable structures. In this work, facile thermal annealing is employed to promote the formation of predominantly brookite-phase films, regulate the brookite lattice distortions, and determine the effect of these distortions on charge separation, ultimately directed at enhancing photocatalytic activity. Profile fitting of X-ray diffraction patterns and peak shifts in Raman spectra revealed structural distortions of the brookite lattice. Structural defects, including lattice gliding, dislocations, stacking faults, and twin boundaries, were observed using scanning transmission electron microscopy. First-principles simulations reveal how the lattice distortions associated with stacking faults induce band bending, thus increasing the photocatalytic activity of brookite. In conclusion, this study provides insight into the microstructural tuning of metastable phases to enhance their unique functionalities.

band bending↗
DOE OSTI2022

Thermal-healing of lattice defects for high-energy single-crystalline battery cathodes

Abstract Single-crystalline nickel-rich cathodes are a rising candidate with great potential for high-energy lithium-ion batteries due to their superior structural and chemical robustness in comparison with polycrystalline counterparts. Within the single-crystalline cathode materials, the lattice strain and defects have significant impacts on the intercalation chemistry and, therefore, play a key role in determining the macroscopic electrochemical performance. Guided by our predictive theoretical model, we have systematically evaluated the effectiveness of regaining lost capacity by modulating the lattice deformation via an energy-efficient thermal treatment at different chemical states. We demonstrate that the lattice structure recoverability is highly dependent on both the cathode composition and the state of charge, providing clues to relieving the fatigued cathode crystal for sustainable lithium-ion batteries.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Geometric frustration of Jahn–Teller order in the infinite-layer lattice

The Jahn–Teller effect, in which electronic configurations with energetically degenerate orbitals induce lattice distortions to lift this degeneracy, has a key role in many symmetry-lowering crystal deformations. Lattices of Jahn–Teller ions can induce a cooperative distortion, as exemplified by LaMnO 3 . Although many examples occur in octahedrally or tetrahedrally coordinated transition metal oxides due to their high orbital degeneracy, this effect has yet to be manifested for square-planar anion coordination, as found in infinite-layer copper, nickel, iron and manganese oxides. Here, for this work, we synthesize single-crystal CaCoO 2 thin films by topotactic reduction of the brownmillerite CaCoO 2.5 phase. We observe a markedly distorted infinite-layer structure, with ångström-scale displacements of the cations from their high-symmetry positions. This can be understood to originate from the Jahn–Teller degeneracy of the d xz and d yz orbitals in the d 7 electronic configuration along with substantial ligand–transition metal mixing. A complex pattern of distortions arises in a $2\sqrt2$ x $2\sqrt2$ x $1$ tetragonal supercell, reflecting the competition between an ordered Jahn–Teller effect on the CoO 2 sublattice and the geometric frustration of the associated displacements of the Ca sublattice, which are strongly coupled in the absence of apical oxygen. As a result of this competition, the CaCoO 2 structure forms an extended two-in–two-out type of Co distortion following ‘ice rules’.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Low Temperature Dynamic Polaron Liquid in a Manganite Exhibiting Colossal Magnetoresistance

Polarons - fermionic charge carriers bearing a strong companion lattice deformation - exhibit a natural tendency for self-localization due to the recursive interaction between electrons and the lattice. While polarons are ubiquitous in insulators, how they evolve in transitions to metallic and superconducting states in quantum materials remains an open question. Here, we use resonant inelastic x-ray scattering to track the electron-lattice coupling in the colossal magneto-resistive bi-layer manganite La 1.2 Sr 1.8 Mn 2 O 7 across its metal-to-insulator transition. The response in the insulating high-temperature state features harmonic emissions of a dispersionless oxygen phonon at small energy transfer. Additionally, upon cooling into the metallic state, we observe a drastic redistribution of spectral weight from the region of these harmonic emissions to a broad high energy continuum. In concert with theoretical calculations, we show that this evolution implies a shift in electron-lattice coupling from static to dynamic lattice distortions that leads to a distinct polaronic ground state in the low temperature metallic phase - a dynamic polaron liquid.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Curved lattices of crystals formed in glass

Atomic arrangements systemically deviating from the classic definition of single crystal lattice have been known in spherulites for over a century. However, their unusual curved lattice could not be exploited for useful applications due to their uncontrolled orientations and lattice curvatures. Heating of glass with focused laser, electron or x-ray beam has yielded well-defined conditions for forming single crystal architectures. Furthermore, by controlling the conditions of irradiation and confinement by glass matrix for a given system, desired lattice curvature (rotations and twists) can be reproducibly introduced into these crystals. Here, we review several examples of laser-fabricated crystals with curved lattices in glass using a common coordinate system, which helps to establish correlations between processing parameters and lattice curvature. Here, the mechanisms of lattice deformations are discussed along with potential methods to control the orientation of the initially formed seeds that determine the lattice orientations of the end product. The recent developments of laser-fabrication of single crystal architecture in glass with controlled heating profile appear promising for engineering the curvature of their lattices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Absence of magnetoelastic deformation in the spin-chain compound CuBr 2

Here, we investigate a spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ antiferromagnet, CuBr 2 , which has quasi-one-dimensional structural motifs. The system has previously been observed to exhibit unusual Raman modes possibly due to a locally deformed crystal structure driven by the low-dimensional magnetism. Using hard x-ray scattering and neutron total scattering, here we aim to verify a specific form of tetramerizing deformation proposed in the previous study. Apart from diffuse scattering signals, which we can reproduce by performing a thorough modeling of the lattice's thermal vibrations, we do not observe evidence for a tetramerized lattice structure within our detection sensitivity. Consequently, we consider it unlikely that the unusual Raman modes in CuBr 2 arise from quantum spin-singlet-driven lattice deformations.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Local strain inhomogeneities during electrical triggering of a metal–insulator transition revealed by X-ray microscopy

Electrical triggering of a metal–insulator transition (MIT) often results in the formation of characteristic spatial patterns such as a metallic filament percolating through an insulating matrix or an insulating barrier splitting a conducting matrix. When MIT triggering is driven by electrothermal effects, the temperature of the filament or barrier can be substantially higher than the rest of the material. Using X-ray microdiffraction and dark-field X-ray microscopy, we show that electrothermal MIT triggering leads to the development of an inhomogeneous strain profile across the switching device, even when the material does not undergo a pronounced, discontinuous structural transition coinciding with the MIT. Diffraction measurements further reveal evidence of unique features associated with MIT triggering including lattice distortions, tilting, and twinning, which indicate structural nonuniformity of both low- and high-resistance regions inside the switching device. Such lattice deformations do not occur under equilibrium, zero-voltage conditions, highlighting the qualitative difference between states achieved through increasing temperature and applying voltage in nonlinear electrothermal materials. Electrically induced strain, lattice distortions, and twinning could have important contributions in the MIT triggering process and drive the material into nonequilibrium states, providing an unconventional pathway to explore the phase space in strongly correlated electronic systems.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Dynamic lattice distortions driven by surface trapping in semiconductor nanocrystals

Nonradiative processes limit optoelectronic functionality of nanocrystals and curb their device performance. Nevertheless, the dynamic structural origins of nonradiative relaxations in nanocrystals are not understood. Here, femtosecond electron diffraction measurements corroborated by atomistic simulations uncover transient lattice deformations accompanying radiationless electronic processes in semiconductor nanocrystals. Investigation of the excitation energy dependence shows that hot carriers created by a photon energy considerably larger than the bandgap induce structural distortions at nanocrystal surfaces on few picosecond timescales associated with the localization of trapped holes. On the other hand, carriers created by a photon energy close to the bandgap result in transient lattice heating that occurs on a much longer 200 ps timescale, governed by an Auger heating mechanism. Elucidation of the structural deformations associated with the surface trapping of hot holes provides atomic-scale insights into the mechanisms deteriorating optoelectronic performance and a pathway towards minimizing these losses in nanocrystal devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Unconventional solitonic high-temperature superfluorescence from perovskites

Fast thermal dephasing limits macroscopic quantum phenomena to cryogenic conditions and hinders their use at ambient temperatures. For electronic excitations in condensed media, dephasing is mediated by thermal lattice motion. Therefore, taming the lattice influence is essential for creating collective electronic quantum states at high temperatures. Although there are occasional reports of high-T c quantum effects across different platforms, it is unclear which lattice characteristics and electron–lattice interactions lead to macroscopically coherent electronic states in solids. Here we studied intensity fluctuations in the macroscopic polarization during the emergence of superfluorescence in a lead halide perovskite and showed that spontaneously synchronized polaronic lattice oscillations accompany collective electronic dipole emission. We further developed an effective field model and theoretically confirmed that exciton–lattice interactions lead to a new electronically and structurally entangled coherent extended solitonic state beyond a critical polaron density. The analysis shows a phase transition with two processes happening in tandem: incoherent disordered polaronic lattice deformations establish an order, while macroscopic quantum coherence among excitons simultaneously emerges. Recombination of excitons in this state culminates in superfluorescence at high temperatures. Our study establishes fundamental connections between the transient superfluorescence process observed after the impulsive excitation of perovskites and general equilibrium phase transitions achieved by thermal cooling. By identifying various electron–lattice interactions in the perovskite structure and their respective role in creating collectively coherent electronic effects in solids, our work provides unprecedented insight into the design and development of new materials that exhibit high-temperature macroscopic quantum phenomena.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Laser-Induced Recoverable Fluorescence Quenching of Perovskite Films at a Microscopic Grain Scale

Understanding the fundamental properties of metal-halide perovskite materials is driving the development of novel optoelectronic applications. Here, in this paper, we report the observation of a recoverable laser-induced fluorescence quenching phenomenon in perovskite films with a microscopic grain-scale restriction, accompanied by spectral variations. This fluorescence quenching depends on the laser intensity and the dwell time under Auger recombination dominated conditions. These features indicate that the perovskite lattice deformation may take the main responsibility for the transient and show a new aspect to understand halide perovskite photo-stability. We further modulate this phenomenon by adjusting the charge carrier recombination and extraction, revealing that efficient carrier transfer can improve the bleaching resistance of perovskite grains. Our results provide future opportunities to attain high-performance devices by tuning the perovskite lattice disorder and harvesting the energetic carriers.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗