The natural-heterostructure concept realized in delafossites highlights these layered oxides. While metallic, band- or Mott-insulating character may be associated with individual layers, inter-layer coupling still plays a decisive role. We review the correlated electronic structure of PdCoO2, PdCrO2 and AgCrO2, showing that layer-entangled electronic states can deviate from standard classifications of interacting systems. This finding opens up possibilities for materials design in a subtle Mott-critical regime. Manipulated Hidden-Mott physics, correlation-induced semimetallicity, or Dirac/flat-band dispersions in a Mott background are emerging features. Together with achievements in the experimental preparation, this inaugurates an exciting research field in the arena of correlated materials.
@article{arxiv.2011.02906,
title = {From basic properties to the Mott design of correlated delafossites},
author = {Frank Lechermann},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2011.02906},
year = {2021}
}