Ru-Ru Dimers in honeycomb-layered Li$_{2}$RuO$_{3}$

ORAL

Abstract

Dark-field transmission electron microscopy and sub-{\AA} aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) have been used to investigate the local structural properties of Li$_{2}$RuO$_{3}$ We found intriguing Ru-Ru dimerization in the Ru honeycomb skeletons associated with the spin-orbital coupling of the 4$d$ electrons below 540 K. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the Ru-Ru dimers can be delicately broken through various antiphase boundaries and chemical doping. Soliton-like walls in the Ru-Ru dimer lattice are unambiguously observed in real space, and are found to order in a periodic manner for particular situations. The correlation between macroscopic physical properties and local structural distortions in the Li$_{2}$RuO$_{3}$ will be discussed in detail.

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Authors

  • Fei-Ting Huang

    • Rutgers University

  • J.J. Yang

    • Pohang University of Science and Technology, Korea
    • Pohang University of Science and Technology
    • Laboratory for Pohang Emergent Materials and Department of Physics, Pohang University

  • Y.Z. Wang

    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University

  • Y. Horibe

    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University

  • S.-W. Cheong

    • Rutgers University
    • Department of Physics, Rutgers University
    • Rutgers University, NJ, USA
    • Rutgers Center for Emergent Materials and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA
    • Rutgers Center for Emergent Materials and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers U., NJ, USA
    • Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University
    • Rutgers Center for Emergent Materials and Department of Physics and Astronomy, 136 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway 08854, NJ, USA