title: Nanoscale effects on the stability of the λ-Ti3O5 polymorph.
abstract: The nanocrystalline valency-delocalized λ-phase of the binary oxide Ti(3)O(5) has recently emerged as a promising phase-change material that exhibits rapid photo-reversible optical and resistance changes at ambient temperature. Nanoscaling caused the monoclinic-λ to monoclinic charge-ordered β-phase structural instability to shift to considerably lower temperatures compared to the bulk material, and led to a broad thermal hysteresis. The structural transformation was accompanied by a large change in volume and large lattice relaxations, which imply the presence of strong electron-phonon coupling. We attribute the suppression of the phase transition to the enhanced surface energy on the nanoscale.
authors.affiliation: Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Research Center, Osaka Prefecture University, Osaka 599-8531, Japan. r-makiura@21c.osakafu-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Rie
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Makiura
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takabayashi
authors.forename: Andrew N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Fitch
authors.forename: Hiroko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tokoro
authors.forename: Shin-ichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ohkoshi
authors.forename: Kosmas
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Prassides