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Published on: November 29, 2016
Atomic-scale imaging of cation ordering in inverse spinel Zn2SnO4 nanowires
Lihong Bao1, Jianfeng Zang, Guofeng Wang
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of South Carolina , Columbia, South Carolina 29208, United States.
Abstract:
By using high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) coupled with density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we demonstrate the atomic-level imaging of cation ordering in inverse spinel Zn2SnO4 nanowires. This cation ordering was identified as 1:1 ordering of Zn(2+) and Sn(4+) at the octahedral sites of the inverse spinel crystal with microscopic symmetry transition from original cubic Fd3̅m to orthorhombic Imma group. This ordering generated a 67.8% increase in the elastic modulus and 1-2 order of magnitude lower in the electric conductivity and electron mobility compared to their bulk counterpart.
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