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Impurity‐Induced First‐Order Phase Transitions in Highly Crystalline V 2 O 3 Nanocrystals
Author(s) -
Ishiwata Yoichi,
Takahashi Eiko,
Akashi Kenta,
Imamura Masaki,
Azuma Junpei,
Takahashi Kazutoshi,
Kamada Masao,
Ishii Hirofumi,
Liao YenFa,
Tezuka Yasuhisa,
Inagaki Yuji,
Kawae Tatsuya,
NishioHamane Daisuke,
Nantoh Masashi,
Ishibashi Koji,
Kida Tetsuya
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
advanced materials interfaces
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.671
H-Index - 65
ISSN - 2196-7350
DOI - 10.1002/admi.201500132
Subject(s) - materials science , impurity , metastability , condensed matter physics , phase transition , doping , nanoscopic scale , phase (matter) , nanocrystal , hysteresis , chemical physics , grain boundary , metal–insulator transition , transition metal , nanotechnology , metal , microstructure , metallurgy , optoelectronics , biochemistry , chemistry , physics , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics , catalysis
A first‐order phase transition in a bulk material is generally considered to arise at extended defects such as grain boundaries or dislocations, where the energetic barrier between the two phases is reduced. Downsizing a crystal to the nanoscale can exclude the number of defects, leading to enhanced kinetic stabilization of the metastable phase. Here, the disappearance of the first‐order metal–insulator transition in defect‐free V 2 O 3 nanocrystals and the revival of the transition by introducing a certain Cr or Ti impurity content are investigated. The hysteresis width of the transition corresponding to the barrier height decreases with the impurity content. It is proposed that homogeneous impurity doping is a universal method that can control the occurrence of a first‐order phase transition in nanoscale materials.