Braiding Lateral Morphotropic Grain Boundaries in Homogenetic Oxides

Shengru Chen; Qinghua Zhang; Dongke Rong; Yue Xu; Jinfeng Zhang; Fangfang Pei; He Bai; Yan-Xing Shang; Shan Lin; Qiao Jin; Haitao Hong; Can Wang; Wensheng Yan; Haizhong Guo; Tao Zhu; Lin Gu; Yu Gong; Qian Li; Lingfei Wang; Gang-Qin Liu; Kui-Juan Jin; Er-Jia Guo

doi:10.1002/adma.202206961

Braiding Lateral Morphotropic Grain Boundaries in Homogenetic Oxides

Adv Mater. 2023 Jan;35(2):e2206961. doi: 10.1002/adma.202206961. Epub 2022 Nov 21.

Authors

Shengru Chen^{1

2}, Qinghua Zhang¹, Dongke Rong¹, Yue Xu¹, Jinfeng Zhang³, Fangfang Pei⁴, He Bai⁵, Yan-Xing Shang¹, Shan Lin¹, Qiao Jin^{1

2}, Haitao Hong^{1

2}, Can Wang^{1

2

6}, Wensheng Yan⁴, Haizhong Guo⁷, Tao Zhu^{1

2

5

6}, Lin Gu⁸, Yu Gong⁹, Qian Li⁴, Lingfei Wang³, Gang-Qin Liu^{1

2

6}, Kui-Juan Jin^{1

2

6}, Er-Jia Guo^{1

2

6}

Affiliations

¹ Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics and Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
² Department of Physics & Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
³ Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Science at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China.
⁴ National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230029, China.
⁵ Spallation Neutron Source Science Center, Dongguan, 523803, China.
⁶ Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Dongguan, Guangdong, 523808, China.
⁷ Key Laboratory of Material Physics & School of Physics and Microelectronics, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China.
⁸ National Center for Electron Microscopy in Beijing and School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
⁹ Department of Physics and Astronomy, College of Charleston, 58 Coming Street, Charleston, SC, 29424, USA.

PMID: 36281802
DOI: 10.1002/adma.202206961

Abstract

Interfaces formed by correlated oxides offer a critical avenue for discovering emergent phenomena and quantum states. However, the fabrication of oxide interfaces with variable crystallographic orientations and strain states integrated along a film plane is extremely challenging by conventional layer-by-layer stacking or self-assembling. Here, the creation of morphotropic grain boundaries (GBs) in laterally interconnected cobaltite homostructures is reported. Single-crystalline substrates and suspended ultrathin freestanding membranes provide independent templates for coherent epitaxy and constraint on the growth orientation, resulting in seamless and atomically sharp GBs. Electronic states and magnetic behavior in hybrid structures are laterally modulated and isolated by GBs, enabling artificially engineered functionalities in the planar matrix. This work offers a simple and scalable method for fabricating unprecedented innovative interfaces through controlled synthesis routes as well as providing a platform for exploring potential applications in neuromorphics, solid-state batteries, and catalysis.

Keywords: cobaltites; freestanding membranes; grain boundaries; lateral homostructures; oxide interfaces.

Abstract

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