Growth of Antiperovskite Oxide Ca3SnO Films by Pulsed Laser Deposition

We report the epitaxial growth of Ca3SnO antiperovskite oxide films on (001)-oriented cubic yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) substrates by using a conventional pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. In this work, a sintered Ca3SnO pellet is used as the ablation target. X-ray diffraction measurements demonstrate the (001) growth of Ca3SnO films with the antiperovskite structure and a cube-on-cube orientation relationship to the YSZ substrate. The successful synthesis of the antiperovskite phase is further confirmed by x-ray photoemission spectroscopy. These results strongly suggest that antiperovskite-oxide films can be directly grown on substrates from the target material using a PLD technique

Novel Charge Ordering in the Trimer Iridium Oxide BaIrO3

We have prepared polycrystalline samples of the trimer Ir oxide BaIrO3 with face-shared Ir3O12 trimers, and have investigated the origin of the phase transition at 182 K by measuring resistivity, thermopower, magnetization and synchrotron x-ray diffraction. We propose a possible electronic model and transition mechanism, starting from a localized electron picture on the basis of the Rietveld refinement. Within this model, BaIrO3 can be basically regarded as a Mott insulator, when the Ir3O12 trimer is identified to one pseudo-atom or one lattice site. The transition can be viewed as a transition from the Mott insulator phase to a kind of charge ordered insulator phase.Comment: 8 pages 5 figures, Crystals (in press

Determination of specific ion positions of Cr³⁺ and O²- in Cr₂O₃ thin films and their relationship to exchange anisotropy at Co/Cr₂O₃ interfaces

The structures of antiferromagnetic Cr₂O₃(0001) thin films with perpendicular exchange bias were investigated using reflection high-energy electron diffraction, X-ray reflectivity, and synchrotron X-ray diffraction. We mainly investigated the specific ion positions of Cr³⁺ and O²- in the corundum structure and discussed their relationship to the magnetic anisotropy of Cr₂O₃. The Cr₂O₃(0001) thin film grown on a Pt(111) buffer layer exhibited a perpendicular exchange anisotropy density of 0.42 mJ/m², in which the Cr³⁺ position is the primary factor in the enhancement of magnetic anisotropy due to dipolar-interaction. In contrast, the single-crystalline Cr₂O₃(0001) film grown on a α-Al₂O₃(0001) substrate featured a low exchange magnetic anisotropy of 0.098 mJ/m². In this film, the Cr³⁺ position parameter is an insignificant factor, leading to low magnetic anisotropy. The O²- ion position also differs between the two types of films, which can affect both the magnetic anisotropy energy originating from fine structures and the magneto-electric properties of Cr₂O₃.Yu Shiratsuchi, Yuuta Nakano, Nobuhito Inami, Tetsuro Ueno, Kanta Ono, Reiji Kumai, Ryoko Sagayama, and Ryoichi Nakatani, Journal of Applied Physics 123, 103903 (2018); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5020620

A Brønsted ligand molecular switch with five accessible states

A mononuclear Fe(II) complex, prepared with a Brønsted diacid ligand, H2L (H2L = 2-[5-phenyl-1H-pyrazole-3-yl] 6benzimidazole pyridine), shows switchable physical properties and was isolated in five different electronic states. The spin crossover (SCO) complex, [FeII(H2L)2](BF4)2 (1A), exhibits abrupt spin transition at T1/2 = 258 K, and treatment with base yields a deprotonated analogue [FeII(HL)2] (1B), which shows gradual SCO above 350 K. A range of ferric analogues were also characterized. [FeIII(HL)(H2L)](BF4)Cl (1C) has an S = 5/2 spin state, while the deprotonated complexes [FeIII(L)(HL)], (1D), and (TEA)[FeIII(L)2], (1E) exist in the low-spin S = 1/2 state. The electronic properties of the five complexes were fully characterized and we demonstrate in situ switching between multiple states in both solution and the solid-state. The versatility of this simple mononuclear system illustrates how proton donor/acceptor ligands can vastly increase the range of accessible states in switchable molecular devices

Synthesis of Polyazobenzenes Exhibiting Photoisomerization and Liquid Crystallinity

While only a few studies have investigated the synthesis of main chain-type polyazobenzenes, they continue to draw an increasing amount of attention owing to their industrial applications in holography, dyes, and functional adhesives. In this study, dibromoazobenzene was prepared as a monomer for constructing azo-based π-conjugated polymers. Miyaura–Suzuki cross-coupling polymerization was conducted to develop copolymers containing an azobenzene unit as a photoisomerization block and a pyrimidine-based liquid crystal generator block. The prepared polymers exhibited thermotropic liquid crystallinity and underwent cis and trans photoisomerization upon irradiation with ultraviolet and visible light. Furthermore, the photoisomerization behavior was examined using optical absorption spectroscopy and synchrotron X-ray diffraction spectrometry