The search for electrolyte materials with high oxygen conductivities is a key step toward reducing the operation temperature of fuel cells, which is currently above 700 degrees C. We report a high lateral ionic conductivity, showing up to eight orders of magnitude enhancement near room temperature, in yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ)/strontium titanate epitaxial heterostructures. The enhancement of the conductivity is observed, along with a YSZ layer thickness-independent conductance, showing that it is an interface process. We propose that the atomic reconstruction at the interface between highly dissimilar structures (such as fluorite and perovskite) provides both a large number of carriers and a high-mobility plane, yielding colossal values of the ionic conductivity.
In systems with strong electron-lattice coupling, such as manganites, orbital degeneracy is lifted, causing a null expectation value of the orbital magnetic moment. magnetic structure is thus determined by spin-spin superexchange. In titanates, however, with much smaller Jahn-Teller distortions, orbital degeneracy might allow non-zero values of the orbital magnetic moment, and novel forms of ferromagnetic superexchange interaction unique to t 2g electron systems have been theoretically predicted, although their experimental observation has remained elusive. In this paper, we report a new kind of Ti 3 + ferromagnetism at Lamno 3 /srTio 3 epitaxial interfaces. It results from charge transfer to the empty conduction band of the titanate and has spin and orbital contributions evidencing the role of orbital degeneracy. The possibility of tuning magnetic alignment (ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic) of Ti and mn moments by structural parameters is demonstrated. This result will provide important clues for understanding the effects of orbital degeneracy in superexchange coupling.
Direct evidence for charge leakage at the interface of epitaxial SrTiO3/LaMnO3 superlattices with atomically sharp interfaces is provided. The direction of charge leakage can be reversed by changing the LMO/STO thickness ratio. This result will be important for the understanding of some of the reported limitations of oxide devices involving manganite/titanate interfaces.
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