Nanotechnology Now

Our NanoNews Digest Sponsors
Heifer International



Home > Press > Brookhaven Scientists Study Role of 'Electrolyte Gating' in Functional Oxide Materials

Abstract:
Physicists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have broken new ground in the study of functional oxide materials. The researchers discovered a previously unknown mechanism involved in "electrolyte gating," a method for increasing electrical conductivity in materials and potentially inducing superconductivity. Their work was published on Monday, July 3 in Quantum Materials, a Nature partner journal.

Brookhaven Scientists Study Role of 'Electrolyte Gating' in Functional Oxide Materials

Upton, NY | Posted on July 3rd, 2017

Superconductivity is the ability of a material to conduct electricity with zero loss or resistance. This effect is 100 percent efficient but has only been achieved at extremely cold temperatures, making it impractical for most large-scale applications. In Brookhaven's Oxide Molecular Beam Epitaxy Group, led by Ivan Bozovic, researchers have been investigating oxides - chemical compounds with oxygen atoms - as potential high-temperature superconductors.

Seeking to induce superconductivity in tungsten oxide, the researchers used a method called electrolyte gating. In this technique, electrically charged compounds draw ions with opposite charges away from each other, creating large electric fields and increasing a material's electrical conductivity.

Similar effects have traditionally been produced using a technique called chemical doping, which requires scientists to add new atoms to materials. Though productive, chemical doping is inefficient for finding new materials with interesting and useful properties because the conductivity of "doped" materials is fixed and cannot be easily changed if researchers want to test a material under different conditions.

On the other hand, "Electrolyte gating allows you to tune materials," said Tony Bollinger, a physicist at Brookhaven and one of the paper's authors. "You can have one sample that you grow and then can continuously change-or tune-as you test it. It saves you from having to go back and synthesize new materials."

Until now, the underlying mechanisms of electrolyte gating were not fully understood. There were two competing theories, one focused on an electrostatic effect, another focused on an oxygen-related (electrochemical) effect. The team at Brookhaven, however, discovered an entirely new mechanism at play, where hydrogen plays a key role.

By using a new method for patterning materials, the researchers were able to monitor the electrical resistance in sections near the site of electrolyte gating, not just in the immediate area. In this area, they observed a drop in resistance and a migration of positive charge. Based on the distance the charge moved, they were able to determine hydrogen atoms were moving through tungsten oxide.

"This means there is no universal mechanism for electrolyte gating," Bollinger said. "It's not always purely electrostatic or electrochemical. You have to look at your specific material and see what is going on there. Our findings give us a guide as we move forward and apply electrolyte gating to other materials."

Brookhaven's researchers also developed other new techniques to confirm their observations in this study. For example, they grew materials with different layers of thickness in order to measure electrical resistance in progressively thicker portions of the material, finding electrolyte gating was affecting the whole material, not just the surface.

"These techniques will increase the number of ways we can probe materials to see exactly what the influence of electrolyte gating is on them," Bollinger said.

Moving forward, the researchers say electrolyte gating can be used as a more efficient alternative to chemical doping and could speed up the process of discovering new superconducting materials.

This work was supported in part by the Center for Emergent Superconductivity, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by DOE's Office of Science.

####

About Brookhaven National Laboratory
Brookhaven National Laboratory is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.

Follow @BrookhavenLab on Twitter or find us on Facebook.

For more information, please click here

Contacts:
rookhaven National Laboratory www.bnl.gov
Media & Communications Office Phone: (631)344-8671
Bldg. 400 - P.O. Box 5000 Fax: (631)344-3368
Upton, NY 11973

Copyright © Brookhaven National Laboratory

If you have a comment, please Contact us.

Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.

Bookmark:
Delicious Digg Newsvine Google Yahoo Reddit Magnoliacom Furl Facebook

Related Links

Scientific Paper:

Related News Press

News and information

Enhancing power factor of p- and n-type single-walled carbon nanotubes April 25th, 2025

Tumor microenvironment dynamics: the regulatory influence of long non-coding RNAs April 25th, 2025

Ultrafast plasmon-enhanced magnetic bit switching at the nanoscale April 25th, 2025

Next-generation drug delivery innovation! DGIST develops precision therapeutics using exosomes April 25th, 2025

Laboratories

Giving batteries a longer life with the Advanced Photon Source: New research uncovers a hydrogen-centered mechanism that triggers degradation in the lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles September 13th, 2024

A 2D device for quantum cooling:EPFL engineers have created a device that can efficiently convert heat into electrical voltage at temperatures lower than that of outer space. The innovation could help overcome a significant obstacle to the advancement of quantum computing technol July 5th, 2024

Superconductivity

Researchers observe “locked” electron pairs in a superconductor cuprate August 16th, 2024

Shedding light on perovskite hydrides using a new deposition technique: Researchers develop a methodology to grow single-crystal perovskite hydrides, enabling accurate hydride conductivity measurements May 17th, 2024

Oscillating paramagnetic Meissner effect and Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in cuprate superconductor May 17th, 2024

Govt.-Legislation/Regulation/Funding/Policy

Rice researchers harness gravity to create low-cost device for rapid cell analysis February 28th, 2025

Department of Energy announces $71 million for research on quantum information science enabled discoveries in high energy physics: Projects combine theory and experiment to open new windows on the universe January 17th, 2025

Quantum engineers ‘squeeze’ laser frequency combs to make more sensitive gas sensors January 17th, 2025

Chainmail-like material could be the future of armor: First 2D mechanically interlocked polymer exhibits exceptional flexibility and strength January 17th, 2025

Possible Futures

Enhancing power factor of p- and n-type single-walled carbon nanotubes April 25th, 2025

Tumor microenvironment dynamics: the regulatory influence of long non-coding RNAs April 25th, 2025

Ultrafast plasmon-enhanced magnetic bit switching at the nanoscale April 25th, 2025

Next-generation drug delivery innovation! DGIST develops precision therapeutics using exosomes April 25th, 2025

Discoveries

Enhancing power factor of p- and n-type single-walled carbon nanotubes April 25th, 2025

Tumor microenvironment dynamics: the regulatory influence of long non-coding RNAs April 25th, 2025

Ultrafast plasmon-enhanced magnetic bit switching at the nanoscale April 25th, 2025

Next-generation drug delivery innovation! DGIST develops precision therapeutics using exosomes April 25th, 2025

Materials/Metamaterials/Magnetoresistance

Enhancing power factor of p- and n-type single-walled carbon nanotubes April 25th, 2025

Chainmail-like material could be the future of armor: First 2D mechanically interlocked polymer exhibits exceptional flexibility and strength January 17th, 2025

Enhancing transverse thermoelectric conversion performance in magnetic materials with tilted structural design: A new approach to developing practical thermoelectric technologies December 13th, 2024

FSU researchers develop new methods to generate and improve magnetism of 2D materials December 13th, 2024

Announcements

Enhancing power factor of p- and n-type single-walled carbon nanotubes April 25th, 2025

Tumor microenvironment dynamics: the regulatory influence of long non-coding RNAs April 25th, 2025

Ultrafast plasmon-enhanced magnetic bit switching at the nanoscale April 25th, 2025

Next-generation drug delivery innovation! DGIST develops precision therapeutics using exosomes April 25th, 2025

Interviews/Book Reviews/Essays/Reports/Podcasts/Journals/White papers/Posters

Enhancing power factor of p- and n-type single-walled carbon nanotubes April 25th, 2025

Tumor microenvironment dynamics: the regulatory influence of long non-coding RNAs April 25th, 2025

Ultrafast plasmon-enhanced magnetic bit switching at the nanoscale April 25th, 2025

Next-generation drug delivery innovation! DGIST develops precision therapeutics using exosomes April 25th, 2025

NanoNews-Digest
The latest news from around the world, FREE




  Premium Products
NanoNews-Custom
Only the news you want to read!
 Learn More
NanoStrategies
Full-service, expert consulting
 Learn More











ASP
Nanotechnology Now Featured Books




NNN

The Hunger Project