Searcharxiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · 2302.13324

Correlation-driven metal-insulator transition in unconventional magnetic metal superoxides

Sarajit Biswas·Pratim Banerjee·Molly De Raychaudhury
View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Using first-principles electronic structure calculations, we have extensively studied the electronic and magnetic properties of alkali sodium superoxide (NaO2) in comparison with that of potassium superoxide (KO2) both at high and low temperatures. These properties of these superoxides are governed by the unpaired electron donated by the alkali atoms Na and K to the O atoms forming dimers. This unpaired electron is the source of orbital fluctuations in the O-{\pi}* manifold for both cases. In order to reduce this orbital fluctuation, both go through several structural phase transitions. In these plethora of structures, the O2- dimers undergo rotation, leading to a complex linking of its orbital degrees of freedom with its spin degrees of freedom. Hence the magnetic properties are found to be controlled by this unpaired electron vary as the orientations of these O2 - dimers change. Due to the change in the orientations of O2- dimers, the alkali ion cages around the O2 - dimers change from square in the pyrite phase to rhombus and rectangle for the orthorhombic phase for NaO2 and square in the tetragonal phase to parallelogram in the monoclinic phase for KO2 on the plane cutting through the dimers. The band structures of NaO2 in the low-temperature orthorhombic phase and KO2 in the monoclinic phase show that the lifting of degeneracy in the O-{\pi}* manifold is due to the redefined electrostatic interaction between the K/Na cages and the O2 - dimers. This, inaddition to electron correlation among the localized O-{\pi}* electrons, establishes complete orbital ordering (OO) in turn drives metal-insulator transition (MIT) in both the systems. Furthermore, K doping for Na in NaO2 also results in correlation-induced MIT, predicted to take place at a temperature higher than that in NaO2. This opens up the possibility of MIT in Rb/Cs-doped NaO2 at even higher temperatures.

Explore related subjects

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Keep this discovery

BibTeXRIS

Sarajit Biswas, Pratim Banerjee, Molly De Raychaudhury. 2023-02-26. Correlation-driven metal-insulator transition in unconventional magnetic metal superoxides. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.materresbull.2023.112389

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

Measuring chiral phonons

Chiral phonons are quantized vibrations where the atomic motion in a solid breaks improper rotation symmetries. In many cases, chiral phonons possess angular momenta and are therefore selective to circularly polarized light. Both fundamental and applied research efforts on chiral phonons have been gaining increasing attention owing to their importance in a variety of fields including spintronics, spin-selective chemical reactions, thermal transport, quantum information processing and biosensing, where the bi-directional spin-lattice coupling enabled by chiral phonons can be harnessed in new ways, and potentially lead to new functionalities. Thus far, the studies of chiral phonons across diverse materials platforms have evolved largely independently within these fields, but the experimental techniques are often interrelated. In this perspective, we present a detailed description, as well as advantages and disadvantages of the current approaches for experimentally measuring chiral phonons in chiral and achiral materials. We conclude with a discussion of new methods for measuring chiral phonons. Ultimately, this work seeks to offer an experimental guide for systematically investigating the properties of chiral phonons in various materials systems and applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2026

A model of grain growth in UN integrating molecular dynamics, phase-field modeling, and uncertainty quantification

Grain growth kinetics and grain-boundary (GB) properties in uranium mononitride (UN) are investigated through an integrated multiscale framework combining molecular dynamics (MD), phase-field modeling, and surrogate-assisted uncertainty quantification. MD simulations yield GB energies for 27 symmetric tilt boundaries from 0--2000~K, which are consistent with available DFT values. The average GB energy is nearly temperature-independent below 1000~K and increases at higher temperatures. A mechanistic pore-drag model applied to the only available grain growth dataset for actinide nitrides yields a mobility reduction factor of $s \approx 0.93$--$0.99$, statistically indistinguishable from unity, confirming that pore drag is negligible under the experimental conditions. The intrinsic GB mobility is therefore extracted directly from the effective mobility, yielding $M_0 = 2.05\times10^{-15}$~m$^4$/(J$\cdot$s) and $Q_M = 0.89$~eV. Phase-field simulations conducted from 1500--2000~K confirm normal curvature-driven grain growth, with grain size distributions converging to the Hillert-like form. A surrogate-assisted global sensitivity analysis---combining principal component analysis, Gaussian process regression, and Sobol decomposition---reveals that the mobility prefactor $M_0$ dominates output variance at all times, followed by the activation energy $Q_M$, while the GB energy $\gamma$ contributes minimally. These results establish the first quantitative grain growth framework for UN and identify the reduction of uncertainty in $M_0$ and $Q_M$ as the highest-priority target for future experimental efforts.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2026

Silicon Solar Cell Design for >30% Efficiency via Singlet Fission

Singlet fission (SF) materials convert high-energy photons into multiple charge carriers, providing a route to exceed the efficiency limits of single-junction silicon solar cells without many of the complexities of multi-junction tandem designs. Following the first demonstration of an SF-enhanced silicon solar cell in 2025, there is a need to understand how SF materials can be effectively integrated into high-efficiency industrial silicon devices and translated from proof of concept to a manufacturable technology. Using coupled optical and electrical simulations, we assess the efficiency potential of several industrially relevant silicon cell architectures combined with SF materials. Interdigitated back-contact (IBC) cells offer the greatest potential for improvement due to unrestricted front-surface access and can achieve efficiencies exceeding 33%. However, performance is highly sensitive to front-surface passivation quality. Appropriate silicon design, particularly controlled surface doping and fixed interfacial charge, can mitigate recombination losses and relax passivation requirements for ultra-thin exciton-transfer layers.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗