title: Time-Resolved X-Ray Powder Diffraction Study of Photoinduced Phase Transitions in Ti3O5Nanoparticles.
abstract: Nanoparticles of Ti3O5have been reported to show a permanent photoinduced phase transition at room temperature. This suggests that light-induced phase transformations of Ti3O5nanoparticles may be promising for technological applications. Here, we report a photoinduced semiconductor-to-metal phase transition from β-Ti3O5to λ-Ti3O5nanoparticles at room temperature observed directly by time-resolved X-ray powder diffraction in a pump-probe setup. The results show a partial structural change, limited by differences between pumped and probed volumes, which persists a few microseconds after excitation. The first step in the relaxation back to the ground state can be described by a single exponential decay with time constant within microsecond timescales. Analysis of the change in lattice constants enables us to estimate an average temperature increase across the phase transition, consistent with a thermally driven process.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physics "Gleb Wataghin", University of Campinas-UNICAMP, Rua Sérgio Buarque de Holanda, 777, Cidade Universitária Zeferino Vaz-Barão Geraldo, Campinas-SP, 13083-859, Brazil.
authors.forename: Kelin R
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5130-6865
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Tasca
authors.affiliation: Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Institut, CH-5232, Villigen PSI, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Esposito
authors.affiliation: Institute for Quantum Electronics, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zürich, Auguste-Piccard-Hof 1, CH-8093, Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lantz
authors.affiliation: Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Institut, CH-5232, Villigen PSI, Switzerland.|SwissFEL, Paul Scherrer Institut, CH-5232, Villigen PSI, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Beaud
authors.affiliation: Institute for Quantum Electronics, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zürich, Auguste-Piccard-Hof 1, CH-8093, Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kubli
authors.affiliation: Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Institut, CH-5232, Villigen PSI, Switzerland.|Institute for Quantum Electronics, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zürich, Auguste-Piccard-Hof 1, CH-8093, Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Savoini
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physics "Gleb Wataghin", University of Campinas-UNICAMP, Rua Sérgio Buarque de Holanda, 777, Cidade Universitária Zeferino Vaz-Barão Geraldo, Campinas-SP, 13083-859, Brazil.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Giles
authors.affiliation: Institute for Quantum Electronics, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zürich, Auguste-Piccard-Hof 1, CH-8093, Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Steven L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Johnson
keywords: Ti3O5; nanoparticles; structural transitions; time-resolved X-ray diffraction