Abstract
The use of bottom-up fabrication of nanostructures for nanotechnology inherently requires two-dimensional control of the nanostructures at a particular surface. This could in theory be achieved crystallographically with a structure whose three-dimensional unit cell has two or more—tuneable—dimensions on the nanometre scale. Here, we present what is to our knowledge the first example of a truly periodic two-dimensional nanometre-scale phase separation in any inorganic material, and demonstrate our ability to tune the unit-cell dimensions. As such, it represents great potential for the use of standard ceramic processing methods for nanotechnology. The phase separation occurs spontaneously in the homologous series of the perovskite-based Li-ion conductor, (Nd2/3−xLi3x)TiO3, to give two phases whose dimensions both extend into the nanometre scale. This unique feature could lead to its application as a template for the assembly of nanostructures or molecular monolayers.
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Acknowledgements
We thank I.-W. Chen, A. Rappe, I. Levin, J. Kikkawa and H. Wu for discussions and D. M. Yates for technical support. This work was supported by the MRSEC Program of the National Science Foundation under award # DMR05-20020.
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B.S.G. carried out the synthesis and characterization and wrote the paper. P.K.D. initiated and supervised the work and commented on the manuscript.
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Guiton, B., Davies, P. Nano-chessboard superlattices formed by spontaneous phase separation in oxides. Nature Mater 6, 586–591 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat1953
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat1953
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