Reversible anionic redox reactions represent a transformational change for creating advanced highenergy-density positive electrode materials for Li-ion batteries. Their activation mechanism is frequently linked to ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) processes, which have not been yet fully validated experimentally due to the lack of suitable model materials. Here, we show that the activation of anionic redox in cation-disordered rock-salt Li1.17Ti0.58Ni0.25O2 involves a long-lived intermediate Ni 3+/4+ species, which can fully evolve to Ni 2+ during relaxation. Combining electrochemical analysis and spectroscopic techniques, we quantitatively identified that the reduction of such Ni 3+/4+ goes through a dynamic LMCT process (Ni 3+/4+ -O 2− → Ni 2+ -O n− ). Besides providing the first experimental validation of previous theoretical hypothesis, our finding also helps to rationalize several unusual peculiarities associated with anionic redox, such as cationic-anionic redox inversion and voltage hysteresis. Altogether, this work provides additional guidance for designing high-capacity electrodes by screening cationic species in appropriately mediating ligand-to-metal charge transfer.

Superconducting proximity devices using low-dimensional semiconducting elements enable a ballistic regime in the proximity transport. The use of topological insulators in such devices is considered promising owing to the peculiar transport properties these materials offer, as well the hope of inducing topological superconductivity and Majorana phenomena via proximity effects. Here we demonstrate the fabrication and superconducting properties of proximity Josephson devices integrating nanocrystals single of Bi 2 Te 2.3 Se 0.7 with a thickness of a few unit cells. Single junctions display typical characteristics of planar Josephson devices; junctions integrating two nanocrystals behave as nanodimensional superconducting quantum interference devices. A peculiar temperature and magnetic field evolution of the Josephson current along with the observed excess current effect point towards the ballistic proximity regime of topological channels. This suggests the proposed devices are promising for testing topological superconducting phenomena in two-dimensions.

In this work, a class of metamaterials is proposed on the basis of ferromagnet/superconductor hybridization for applications in magnonics. These metamaterials comprise of a ferromagnetic magnon medium that is coupled inductively to a superconducting periodic microstructure. Spectroscopy of magnetization dynamics in such hybrid evidences formation of areas in the medium with alternating dispersions for spin wave propagation, which is the basic requirement for the development of metamaterials known as magnonic crystals. The spectrum allows for derivation of the impact of the superconducting structure on the dispersion: it takes place due to a diamagnetic response of superconductors on the external and stray magnetic fields. In addition, the spectrum displays a dependence on the superconducting critical state of the structure: the Meissner and the mixed states of a type II superconductor are distinguished. This dependence hints toward nonlinear response of hybrid metamaterials on the magnetic field. Investigation of the spin wave dispersion in hybrid metamaterials shows formation of allowed and forbidden bands for spin wave propagation. The band structures are governed by the geometry of spin wave propagation: in the backward volume geometry the band structure is conventional, while in the surface geometry the band structure is nonreciprocal and is formed by indirect band gaps.

In this work we propose and explore an effective numerical approach for investigation of critical current dependence on applied magnetic field for magnetic Josephson junctions with in-plane magnetization orientation. This approach is based on micromagnetic simulation of the magnetization reversal process in the ferromagnetic layer with introduced internal magnetic stiffness and subsequent reconstruction of the critical current value using total flux or reconstructed actual phase difference distribution. The approach is flexible and shows good agreement with experimental data obtained on Josephson junctions with ferromagnetic barriers. Based on this approach we have obtained a critical current dependence on applied magnetic field for rectangular magnetic Josephson junctions with high size aspect ratio. We have shown that the rectangular magnetic Josephson junctions can be considered for application as an effective Josephson magnetic memory element with the value of critical current defined by the orientation of magnetic moment at zero magnetic field. An impact of shape magnetic anisotropy on critical current is revealed and discussed. Finally, we have considered a curling magnetic state in the ferromagnetic layer and demonstrated its impact on critical current.

In this work we propose a hybrid device based on a long Josephson junction (JJ) coupled inductively to an external ferromagnetic (FM) layer. The long JJ in a zero-field operation mode induces a localized AC magnetic field in the FM layer and enables a synchronized magnetostatic standing wave. The magnetostatic wave induces additional dissipation for soliton propagation in the junction and also enables a phase locking (resonant soliton synchronization) at a frequency of natural ferromagnetic resonance. The later manifests itself as an additional constant voltage step on the current–voltage characteristics at the corresponding voltage. The proposed device allows to study magnetization dynamics of individual micro-scaled FM samples using just DC technique, and also it provides additional phase locking frequency in the junction, determined exclusively by characteristics of the ferromagnet.