Related papers: Solving the disordered structure of $\beta$-Cu$_{2…
Single crystal X-ray diffraction measurements have been carried out on Cd_2Re_2O_7 near and below the phase transition it exhibits at Tc' ~195 K. Cd_2Re_2O_7 was recently discovered as the first, and to date only, superconductor with the…
The classification of structural phase transitions as displacive or order-disorder in character is usually based on spectroscopic data above the transition. We use single crystal x-ray diffraction to investigate structural correlations in…
Structure-property relationships in ordered materials have long been a core principle in materials design. However, the intentional introduction of disorder into materials provides structural flexibility and thus access to material…
Material functionality can be strongly determined by structure extending only over nanoscale distances. The pair distribution function presents an opportunity to shift structural studies beyond idealized crystal models and investigate…
The crystal structure of the candidate topological superconductor Cu$_x$Bi$_2$Se$_3$ was studied by single-crystal neutron diffraction using samples obtained by inserting the Cu dopant electrochemically. Neither structural refinements nor…
Solid matter is classified through symmetry of ordering phenomena. Experimentally, this approach is straightforward, except when distinct orderings occur with identical or almost identical symmetry breaking. Here we show that the cuprate…
The local structure of Ba6Ge25 has been studied by x-ray diffraction and the atomic pair distribution function technique at 40 K and room temperature. Unambiguous evidence has been found that two out of three types of Ba atoms in Ba6Ge25…
The nature of the phase separation in KxFe2-ySe2 single crystals is not well understood. Here, temperature dependent SEM images provide compelling evidence that phase separation corresponds to a nucleation and growth process rather than a…
Cubic energy materials such as thermoelectrics or hybrid perovskite materials are often understood to be highly disordered. In GeTe and related IV-VI compounds, this is thought to provide the low thermal conductivities needed for…
A detailed account of the local atomic structure and disorder at 5~K across the phase diagram of the high temperature superconductor K$_x$Fe$_{2-y}$Se$_{2-z}$S$_z$ $(0 \leq z \leq 2)$ is obtained from neutron total scattering and associated…
Neutron pair distribution function analysis and first principles calculations have been employed to study short-range correlations in heavily disordered dielectric material Sr$_x$Ba$_{1-x}$Nb$_2$O$_6$ ($x=0.35, 0.5$ and 0.61). The…
A high power factor and low lattice thermal conductivity are two essential ingredients of highly efficient thermoelectric materials. Although monolayers of transition metal dichalcogenides possess high power factors, high lattice thermal…
The role of layer disorder is important in establishing the topological phases of MoTe${_2}$. A rich tapestry of atomic ordering influences the structural phase transitions (SPTs), but there is little understanding of the mechanistic…
The van der Waals layered magnet $\alpha$-RuCl$_3$ offers tantalizing prospects for the realization of Majorana quasiparticles. Efforts to understand this are, however, hampered by inconsistent magnetic and thermal transport properties…
Structural disorder is common in metal-halide perovskites and important for understanding the functional properties of these materials. First-principles methods can address structure variation on the atomistic scale, but they are often…
We report a corrected crystal structure for the CePt2In7 superconductor, refined from single crystal x-ray diffraction data. The corrected crystal structure shows a different Pt-In stacking along the c-direction in this layered material…
First principles investigations of the high temperature superconducting system Ba$_2$CuO$_{3+\delta}$, recently discovered at $\delta\approx0.2$ at $T_c=70$ K, are applied to demonstrate the effects of oxygen ordering on the electronic and…
Solid materials possess both long-range order and some degree of disorder are critical for understanding the nature of crystal and glassy state, but how to controllable introduce specific type of disorder into a crystalline material is a…
We present a structural analysis of the substituted system (Ba$_{1-x}$Sr$_{x}$)CuSi$_{2}$O$_{6}$, which reveals a stable tetragonal crystal structure down to 1.5 K. We explore the structural details with lowtemperature neutron and…
A major remaining challenge in the superconducting cuprates is the unambiguous differentiation of the composition and electronic structure of the CuO$_2$ layers and those of the intermediate layers. The large c axis for these materials…