Revealing the Role of the Tetragonal Distortion in the Metal-Insulator Transition of Co- and Fe-Doped NiS

Yi Bian; Xing Chen; Shuyu Du; Ziyou Zhang; Jintao Hou; Kaiqi Nie; Zhiying Guo; Hongliang Dong; Zhiyong Qiu; Nuofu Chen; Jikun Chen

doi:10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c03496

Revealing the Role of the Tetragonal Distortion in the Metal-Insulator Transition of Co- and Fe-Doped NiS

J Phys Chem Lett. 2024 Feb 8;15(5):1449-1454. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c03496. Epub 2024 Jan 31.

Authors

Yi Bian¹, Xing Chen¹, Shuyu Du², Ziyou Zhang³, Jintao Hou¹, Kaiqi Nie⁴, Zhiying Guo⁴, Hongliang Dong³, Zhiyong Qiu⁵, Nuofu Chen², Jikun Chen¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China.
² School of Renewable Energy, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China.
³ Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research, Shanghai 201203, China.
⁴ Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
⁵ School of Materials Science and Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China.

PMID: 38291988
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c03496

Abstract

Although the NiS exhibits the most widely adjustable metal-to-insulator (MIT) properties among the chalcogenides, the mechanisms, with respect to the regulations in their critical temperatures (T_MIT), are yet unclear. Herein, we demonstrate the overlooked role associated with the structurally tetragonal distortion in elevating the T_MIT of NiS; this is in distinct contrast to the previously expected hybridization and bandwidth regulations that usually reduces T_MIT. Compared to the perspective of structure distortions, the orbital hybridization and band regulation of NiS are ∼19 times more effective adjustment in T_MIT. As a result, the respective abruptions in both the electrical and thermal resistive switches across the T_MIT of NiS can be better preserved in the low-temperature range (<273 K), shedding light on their optimum usage at cryogenic temperatures.