Abstract
Rotations of oxygen octahedra are ubiquitous, but they cannot break inversion symmetry in simple perovskites. However, in a layered oxide structure, this is possible, as we demonstrate here in A-site ordered Ruddlesden-Popper NaRTiO<sub>4</sub> (R denotes rare-earth metal), previously believed to be centric. By revisiting this series via synchrotron x-ray diffraction, optical second-harmonic generation, piezoresponse force microscopy, and first-principles phonon calculations, we find that the low-temperature phase belongs to the acentric space group P4̄2<sub>1</sub>m, which is piezoelectric and nonpolar. The mechanism underlying this large new family of acentric layered oxides is prevalent, and could lead to many more families of acentric oxides.
Keywords
Acentric factorOctahedronPoint reflectionCrystallographyMaterials scienceCondensed matter physicsCrystal structurePhysicsChemistry
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Publication Info
- Year
- 2014
- Type
- article
- Volume
- 112
- Issue
- 18
- Citations
- 76
- Access
- Closed
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Cite This
Hirofumi Akamatsu,
Koji Fujita,
Toshihiro Kuge
et al.
(2014).
Inversion Symmetry Breaking by Oxygen Octahedral Rotations in the Ruddlesden-Popper<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>Na</mml:mi><mml:mi>R</mml:mi><mml:msub><mml:mrow><mml:mi>TiO</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mn>4</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msub></mml:mrow></mml:math>Family.
Physical Review Letters
, 112
(18)
.
https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.112.187602
Identifiers
- DOI
- 10.1103/physrevlett.112.187602