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Using inelastic neutron scattering and molecular dynamics simulations on a model Zr-Cu-Al metallic glass, we show that transverse phonons persist well into the high-frequency regime, and can be detected at large momentum transfer. Furthermore, the apparent peak width of the transverse phonons was found to follow the static structure factor. The one-to-one correspondence, which was demonstrated for both Zr-Cu-Al metallic glass and a 3-dimensional Lennard-Jones model glass, suggests a universal correlation between the phonon dynamics and the underlying disordered structure. This remarkable correlation, not found for longitudinal phonons, underscores the key role that transverse phonons hold for understanding the structure-dynamics relationship in disordered materials., Comment: 34 pages, 4 figures

Low thermal conductivity is favorable for preserving the temperature gradient between the two ends of a thermoelectric material in order to ensure continuous electron current generation. In high-performance thermoelectric materials, there are two main low thermal conductivity mechanisms: the phonon anharmonic in PbTe and SnSe and phonon scattering resulting from the dynamic disorder in AgCrSe2 and CuCrSe2, which have been successfully revealed by inelastic neutron scattering. Using neutron scattering and ab initio calculations, we report here a mechanism of static local structure distortion combined with phonon-anharmonic-induced ultralow lattice thermal conductivity in {\alpha}-MgAgSb. Since the transverse acoustic phonons are almost fully scattered by the compound's intrinsic distorted rocksalt sublattice, the heat is mainly transported by the longitudinal acoustic phonons. The ultralow thermal conductivity in {\alpha}-MgAgSb is attributed to its atomic dynamics being altered by the structure distortion, which presents a possible microscopic route to enhance the performance of similar thermoelectric materials., Comment: 43 pages, 5 figures

A biskyrmion consists of two bound, topologically stable skyrmion spin textures. These coffee-bean-shaped objects have been observed in real-space in thin plates using Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (LTEM). From LTEM imaging alone, it is not clear whether biskyrmions are surface-confined objects, or, analogously to skyrmions in non-centrosymmetric helimagnets, three-dimensional tube-like structures in bulk sample. Here, we investigate the biskyrmion form factor in single- and polycrystalline MnNiGa samples using small angle neutron scattering (SANS). We find that biskyrmions are not long-range ordered, not even in single-crystals. Surprisingly all of the disordered biskyrmions have their in-plane symmetry axis aligned along certain directions, governed by the magnetocrystalline anisotropy. This anisotropic nature of biskyrmions may be further exploited to encode information.

Whether porosity can effectively improve thermoelectric performance is still an open question. Herein we report that thermoelectric performance can be significantly enhanced by creating porosity in n-type Mg3.225Mn0.025Sb1.5Bi0.49Te0.01, with a ZT of ~0.9 at 323 K and ~1.6 at 723 K, making the average ZT much higher for better performance. The large improvement at room temperature is significant considering that such a ZT value is comparable to the best ZT at this temperature in n-type Bi2Te3. The enhancement was mainly from the improved electrical mobility and multi-scale phonon scattering, particularly from the well-dispersed bismuth nano-precipitates in the porous structure. We further extend this approach to other thermoelectric materials such as half-Heuslers Nb0.56V0.24Ti0.2FeSb and Hf0.25Zr0.75NiSn0.99Sb0.01 and Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 showing similar improvements, further advancing thermoelectric materials for applications.

In layered LiNixMnyCozO2 cathode material for lithium-ion batteries, the spins of transition metal (TM) ions construct a two-dimensional triangular networks, which can be considered as a simple case of geometrical frustration. By performing neutron powder diffraction experiments and magnetization measurements, we find that long-range magnetic order cannot be established in LiNixMnyCozO2 even at low temperature of 3 K. Remarkably, the frustration parameters of these compounds are estimated to be larger than 30, indicating the existence of strongly frustrated magnetic interactions between spins of TM ions. As frustration will inevitably give rise to lattice instability, the formation of Li/Ni exchange in LiNixMnyCozO2 will help to partially relieve the degeneracy of the frustrated magnetic lattice by forming a stable antiferromagnetic state in hexagonal sublattice with nonmagnetic ions located in centers of the hexagons. Moreover, Li/Ni exchange will introduce 180{\deg} superexchange interaction, which further relieves the magnetic frustration through bringing in new exchange paths. Thus, the variation of Li/Ni exchange ratio vs. TM mole fraction in LiNixMnyCozO2 with different compositions can be well understood and predicted in terms of magnetic frustration and superexchange interactions. This provides a unique viewpoint to study the Li/Ni ions exchange in layered Li(NixMnyCoz)O2 cathode materials., Comment: 22 pages, 4 figures

Two-dimensional (2D) boron has been predicted to show superconductivity. However, intrinsic 2D carbon and phosphorus have not been reported to be superconductors, which, inspires us to seek superconductivity in their mixture. Here we perform first-principles calculations of the electronic structure, phonon dispersion, and electron-phonon coupling of the metallic phosphorus carbide monolayer, the $\beta_{0}$-PC. Results show that it is an intrinsic phonon-mediated superconductor, with estimated superconducting temperature $T_{c}$ to be $\sim$13 K. The main contribution to the electron-phonon coupling is from the out-of-plane vibrations of phosphorus. A Kohn anomaly on the first acoustic branch is observed. The superconducting related physical quantities is found tunable by applying strain or carrier doping., Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures

Layered 1$T$-TiSe$_{2}$ has attracted much interest for the competition of charge density wave (CDW) and superconductivity in its bulk and even monolayer forms. Here we perform first-principles calculations of the electronic structure, phonon dispersion, and electron-phonon coupling of the Pb-intercalated 1$T$-TiSe$_{2}$ in bulk and layered structures. Results show that upon the Pb atom intercalation, the CDW instability in 1$T$-TiSe$_{2}$ can be effectively suppressed, accompanied by the removal of the imaginary phonon modes at \textbf{q}$_{\rm{M}}$. The Pb 6\emph{p} orbitals occupy directly at the Fermi level, which hence intercalates the superconductivity. Both bulk and layered PbTiSe$_{2}$ are phonon-mediated superconductors, with estimated superconducting temperature $T_{c}$ to be $\sim$1.6-3.8 K. The main contribution to the electron-phonon coupling is from the vibrations of Pb and Se atoms. The superconducting related physical quantities are found tunable by varying Pb content., Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures

Combining first-principles density functional method and crystal structure prediction techniques, we report a series of hexagonal two-dimensional (2D) transition metal borides (TMBs) including Sc2B2, Ti2B2, V2B2, Cr2B2, Y2B2, Zr2B2, and Mo2B2. Their dynamic and thermal stabilities are testified by phonon and molecular dynamics simulations. We investigate the potential of 2D Ti2B2 monolayer as the anode material for Li-ion batteries (LIBs) and Na-ion batteries (NIBs). The Ti2B2 monolayer possesses high theoretical specific capacities of 456 and 1027 mAhg-1 for Li and Na, respectively. The very high Li/Na diffusivity with ultralow energy barrier of 0.017/0.008 eV indicates an excellent charge-discharge capability. In addition, the good electronic conductivity during the whole lithiation process is found by electronic structure calculations. The very small change in volume after the adsorption of one, two, and three layers of Li and Na ions indicates that the Ti2B2 monolayer is robust. These results highlight the suitability of Ti2B2 monolayer as well as the other 2D TMBs as excellent anode materials for both LIBs and NIBs., Comment: 26 pages,11 figures

Here, we report on the experimental discovery of biskyrmion magnetic nanodomains at RT and the observation of a biskyrmion-derived topological Hall effect (THE) in the centrosymmetric hexagonal MnNiGa magnet. Using a phase reconstruction technique based on a transport-of-intensity equation (TIE), we established the texture of the biskyrmion spin. Results from Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and the topological Hall effect revealed that the biskyrmion phase is stable over a much wider temperature range (100 K to ~340K) and a larger magnetic field range in our material than in skyrmion-hosting bulk crystals reported previously[1-3,6]. The super-wide operating temperature and the broad range of material options indicate important progress toward the realization of skyrmion-based spintronic devices., Comment: Accepted for publication in advanced materials (DOI: 10.1002/adma.201600889)

We have performed a systematic first-principles investigation to calculate the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of PbCrO$_{3}$, CrPbO$_{3}$ as well as their equiproportional combination. The local density approximation (LDA)$+U$ and the generalized gradient approximation$+U$ theoretical formalisms have been used to account for the strong on-site Coulomb repulsion among the localized Cr 3d electrons. By choosing the Hubbard \emph{U} parameter around 4 eV, ferromagnetic, and/or antiferromagnetic ground states can be achieved and our calculated lattice constants, bulk moduli, and equation of states are in good agreement with recent experiments [W. Xiao \emph{et al.}, PNAS \textbf{107}, 14026 (2010)]. The bonding nature of B$-$O bonds in these ABO$_{3}$ compounds exhibit evident covalent character and our electron transferring study indicates that the ionicity shows decreasing trend with increasing fraction of CrO$_{6/2}$ octahedron within the PbCrO$_{3}$-CrPbO$_{3}$ random compounds. The lengthes of B$-$O bonds determine their lattice parameters, thus, clearly indicates that the abnormally large volume and compressibility is due to the contain of CrPbO$_{3}$ in the experimental sample and the transition of PbO$_{6/2}$ octahedron to CrO$_{6/2}$ upon compression., Comment: 7 pages JAP, 6 figures