Origin of Metal–Insulator Transition in n-doped ABO<sub>3 </sub>Perovskite Metals

ORAL

Abstract

A subclass of ABOx perovskites undergoes metal-to-insulator transitions (MITs) when n-doped either via oxygen vacancies concomitant with ordering, chemical substitution or strain. For example, the oxygen-rich perovskite SrCoO3 is a ferromagnetic metal, while the oxygen-deficient brownmillerite SrCoO2.5 is an anti-ferromagnetic insulator. The precise mechanism driving the MIT, and its relation to the electronic-structure of the metallic phase, remains unknown. Here we hypothesize that metallic ABO3 that are more susceptible to a MIT via n-doping are self-hole doped negative charge transfer metals; n-doping fills these pre-existing holes and gives rise to an insulating state. Magnetism is a secondary effect that may or may not assist in the gap opening. Moreover, this tendency to remain self-hole doped determines a universal electronic response to modulations in stoichiometry/composition/pressure. In this work, we use ab-initio density functional theory (DFT), DFT+U, DFT+hybrid as well as many-body quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) calculations to shed light on the hypothesis, with comparison to experiments where possible.

*This work was supported by the Center for Predictive Simulation of Functional Materials, a DOE-BES center.

Presenters

  • Panchapakesan Ganesh

    • Center for Nanophase Materials and Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
    • Oak Ridge National Laboratory
    • Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
    • Oak Ridge National Lab

Authors

  • Guoxiang Hu

    • Center for Nanophase Materials and Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
    • Oak Ridge National Laboratory
  • Chandler Bennett

    • Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
  • Qiyang Lu

    • Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
  • Olle Heinonen

    • Materials Science Division, Argonne National Lab
    • Argonne National Laboratory
    • Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory
    • Argonne Natl Lab
  • Paul Kent

    • Oak Ridge Natl Lab
    • Oak Ridge National Laboratory
    • Center for Nanophase Materials and Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
    • Oak Ridge National Lab
  • Ho Nyung Lee

    • Oak Ridge National Lab
    • Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Lab
    • Oak Ridge National Laboratory
    • Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
  • Jaron Krogel

    • Oak Ridge Natl Lab
    • Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
    • Oak Ridge National Laboratory
    • Oak Ridge National Lab
  • Panchapakesan Ganesh

    • Center for Nanophase Materials and Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
    • Oak Ridge National Laboratory
    • Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
    • Oak Ridge National Lab