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At least 37 records · Page 2

Reinvestigation of crystal symmetry and fluctuations in La 2 CuO 4

New surprises continue to be revealed about La 2 CuO 4 , the parent compound of the original cuprate superconductor. In this study we present neutron scattering evidence that the structural symmetry is lower than commonly assumed. The static distortion results in anisotropic Cu-O bonds within the CuO 2 planes; such anisotropy is relevant to pinning charge stripes in hole-doped samples. Associated with the extra structural modulation is a soft phonon mode. If this phonon were to soften completely, the resulting change in CuO 6 octahedral tilts would lead to weak ferromagnetism. Hence, we suggest that this mode may be the “chiral” phonon inferred from recent studies of the thermal Hall effect. We also note the absence of interaction between the antiferromagnetic spin waves and low-energy optical phonons, in contrast to what is observed in hole-doped samples.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Effect of the electronic charge gap on LO bond-stretching phonons in undoped La 2 CuO 4 calculated using LDA + U

Typical density-functional theory calculations that wrongly predict undoped cuprates to be metallic also predict Cu-O half- and full-breathing phonon energies that are significantly softer than observed, presumably because of weak on-site Coulomb repulsion on the Cu 3d orbitals. We used DFT+U calculations with antiferromagnetic supercells of La 2 CuO 4 to establish correlation between the on-site repulsion strength, tuned via adjusting the value of U, and phonon dispersions. Here, we find that breathing and half-breathing phonons reach experimental values when U is tuned to obtain the correct optical gap and magnetic moments. We demonstrate that using distorted supercells within DFT+U is a promising framework to model phonons in undoped cuprates and other perovskite oxides with complex, interrelated structural and electronic degrees of freedom.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Critical role of magnetic moments in the lattice dynamics of YBa 2 Cu 3 O 6

The role of lattice dynamics in unconventional high-temperature superconductivity is still vigorously debated. Theoretical insights into this problem have long been prevented by the absence of an accurate first-principles description of the combined electronic, magnetic, and lattice degrees of freedom. Utilizing the recently constructed r 2 SCAN density functional that stabilizes the antiferromagnetic (AFM) state of the pristine oxide YBa 2 ⁢Cu 3 ⁢O 6 , we faithfully reproduce the experimental dispersion of key phonon modes. Here we further find significant magnetoelastic coupling in numerous high-energy Cu-O bond stretching optical branches, where the AFM results improve over the soft nonmagnetic phonon bands.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Two types of superconducting pairs in stripe-ordered La 2 - x Ba x CuO 4 ( x = 1 / 8 ) : Evidence from resistivity measurements

Recent angle-resolved c-axis resistivity measurements of the stripe-ordered La 2-x Ba x CuO 4 (LBCO) with x = 1/8 revealed an unexpected dependence on the direction of the in-plane magnetic field. We argue that these and other available data for the c-axis transport point to the existence of superconducting pairs of two different types in the x = 1/8 LBCO below the stripe ordering temperature. The pairs of one type carry finite momentum and are confined to the Cu-O planes; the pairs of other type (probably the conventional d wave with zero momentum) propagate along narrow conducting channels traversing the sample in the c-axis direction. The evidence for this comes from the observed exponential temperature dependence of the c-axis resistivity ρ c (T ) which we attribute to the thermally excited slips of the superconducting phase and flux flows. We present a simple theory to fit the observed π/2-periodic dependence of ρ c on the direction of the in-plane magnetic field and the other data.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Charge density waves and pinning by lattice anisotropy in 214 cuprates

The detection of static charge density waves (CDWs) in La 2-x ⁢Sr x ⁢CuO 4 (LSCO) with x ~ 0.12 at relatively high temperatures has raised the question of what lattice feature pins the CDWs. Some recent structural studies have concluded that some form of monoclinic distortion, indicated by the appearance of certain weak Bragg peaks (type M peaks) at otherwise forbidden positions, are responsible for CDW pinning. Here, as a test of this idea, we present neutron diffraction results for a single crystal of La 2-x ⁢Ba x CuO 4 (LBCO) with x = 1/8, which is known to undergo two structural transitions on cooling, from high-temperature tetragonal (HTT) to low-temperature orthorhombic (LTO) near 240 K, involving a collective tilt pattern of the corner-sharing CuO 6 octahedra, and from LTO to low-temperature tetragonal (LTT) near 56 K, involving a new tilt pattern and the appearance of intensity at peaks of type T. We observe both type M and type T peaks in the LTT phase, while the type M peaks (but not type T) are still present in the LTO phase. Given that CDW order is observed only in the LTT phase of LBCO, it is apparent that the in-plane Cu-O bond anisotropy associated with the octahedral tilt pattern is responsible for charge pinning. We point out that evidence for a similar, but weaker, bond anisotropy has been observed previously in LSCO and should be responsible for CDW pinning there. In the case of LBCO, the monoclinic distortion may help to explain previously reported magneto-optical evidence for gyrotropic order.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Enhanced Electron-Phonon Coupling for Charge-Density-Wave Formation in La 1.8-$x$ Eu 0.2 Sr $x$ CuO 4+$δ$

Charge density wave (CDW) correlations are prevalent in all copper-oxide superconductors. While CDWs in conventional metals are driven by coupling between lattice vibrations and electrons, the role of the electron-phonon coupling (EPC) in cuprate CDWs is strongly debated. Using Cu L 3 edge resonant inelastic x-ray scattering, we study the CDW and Cu-O bond-stretching phonons in the stripe-ordered cuprate La 1.8-x Eu 0.2 Sr x CuO 4+δ . In this work, we investigate the interplay between charge order and EPC as a function of doping and temperature and find that the EPC is enhanced in a narrow momentum region around the CDW ordering vector. By detuning the incident photon energy from the absorption resonance, we extract an EPC matrix element at the CDW ordering vector of M ≃ 0.36 eV , which decreases to M ≃ 0.30 eV at high temperature in the absence of the CDW. Our results suggest a feedback mechanism in which the CDW enhances the EPC which, in turn, further stabilizes the CDW.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Structural changes induced by electric currents in a single crystal of Pr 2 CuO 4

We demonstrate an approach to the structural and electronic property modification of perovskites, focusing on Pr 2 CuO 4 , an undoped parent compound of a class of electron-doped copper-oxide superconductors. Currents were passed parallel or perpendicular to the copper oxygen layers with the voltage ramped up until a rapid drop in the resistivity was achieved, a process referred to as “flash.” The current was then further increased tenfold in current-control mode. This state was quenched by immersion into liquid nitrogen. Flash can drive many compounds into different atomic structures with new properties, whereas the quench freezes them into a long-lived state. Single-crystal neutron diffraction of as-grown and modified Pr 2 CuO 4 revealed a √10 ×√10 superlattice due to oxygen-vacancy order. The diffraction peak intensities of the superlattice of the modified sample were significantly enhanced relative to the pristine sample. Raman-active phonons in the modified sample were considerably sharper. Measurements of electrical resistivity, magnetization, and two-magnon Raman scattering indicate that the modification affected only the Pr-O layers, but not the Cu-O planes. These results point to enhanced oxygen-vacancy order in the modified samples well beyond what can be achieved without passing electrical current. Our work opens a new avenue toward electric field/quench control of structure and properties of layered perovskite oxides.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Observation of van der Waals phonons in the single-layer cuprate ( Bi , Pb ) 2 ( Sr , La ) 2 CuO 6 + δ

Interlayer van der Waals (vdW) coupling is generic in two-dimensional materials such as graphene and transition-metal dichalcogenides, which can induce very low-energy phonon modes. Using high-resolution inelastic hard x-ray scattering, we uncover the ultralow energy phonon mode along the Cu-O bond direction in the high- T c cuprate (Bi,Pb) 2 (Sr,La) 2 ⁢CuO 6+$\delta$ (Bi2201). The energy and full-width half-maximum (FWHM) of these modes are independent of temperature, while their intensity decreases with doping in accordance with an increasing c -axis lattice parameter. Here, we compare the experimental results to first-principles density functional theory simulations and identify the observed mode as a van der Waals phonon, which arises from the shear motion of the adjacent Bi-O layers. This shows that Bi-based cuprate has vibrational properties similar to graphene and transition-metal dichalcogenides, which can be exploited to engineer novel heterostructures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

First-principles electron-phonon interactions and polarons in the parent cuprate La 2 CuO 4

Understanding electronic interactions in high-temperature superconductors is an outstanding challenge. In the widely studied cuprate materials, experimental evidence points to strong electron-phonon ( e -ph) coupling and broad photoemission spectra. Yet, the microscopic origin of this behavior is not fully understood. Here, we study e -ph interactions and polarons in a prototypical parent (undoped) cuprate, La 2 CuO 4 (LCO), by means of first-principles calculations. Leveraging parameter-free Hubbard-corrected density functional theory, we obtain a ground state with the band gap and Cu magnetic moment in nearly exact agreement with experiments. This enables a quantitative characterization of e -ph interactions. Our calculations reveal two classes of longitudinal optical (LO) phonons with strong e -ph coupling to hole states. These modes consist of bond stretching and bond bending in the Cu-O plane as well as vibrations of apical O atoms. The hole spectral functions, obtained with a cumulant method that can capture strong e -ph coupling, exhibit broad quasiparticle peaks with a small spectral weight ( Z ≈ 0.25 ) and pronounced LO-phonon sidebands characteristic of polaron effects. Our calculations predict features observed in photoemission spectra, including a 40-meV peak in the e -ph coupling distribution function not explained by existing models. These results show that the universal strong e -ph coupling found experimentally in doped lanthanum cuprates is also present in the parent compound, and elucidate its microscopic origin. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

Chang, Benjamin K. (ORCID:0000000313049324)↗

Electron energy spectrum and magnetic interactions in high-T(sub c) superconductors

The character of magnetic interactions in La-Sr-Cu-O and Y-Ba-Cu-O systems is of primary importance for analysis of high-T(sub c) superconductivity in these compounds. Neutron diffraction experiments showed the antiferromagnetic ground state for nonsuperconducting La2CuO4 and YBa2Cu3O6 with the strongest antiferromagnetic superexchange being in the ab plane. The nonsuperconducting '1-2-3' system has two Neel temperatures T sub N1 and T sub N2. The first one corresponds to the ordering of Cu atoms in the CuO2 planes; T sub N2 reflects the antiferromagnetic ordering of magnetic moments in CuO chains relatively to the moments in the planes T sub N1 and T sub N2 depend strongly on the oxygen content. Researchers describe magnetic interactions in high-T superconductors based on the Linear Muffin-Tin Orbitals (LMTO) band structure calculations. Exchange interaction parameters can be defined from the effective Heisenberg hamiltonian. When the magnetic moments are not too large, as copper magnetic moments in superconducting oxides, J sub ij parameters can be defined through the non-local magnetic susceptibility of spin restricted solution for the crystal. The results of nonlocal magnetic susceptibility calculations and the values of exchange interaction parameters for La CuO and YBa2Cu3O7 systems are given in tabular form. Strong anisotropy of exchange interactions in the ab plane and along the c axis in La2CuO4 is obviously seen. The value of Neel temperature found agrees well with the experimental data available. In the planes of '1-2-3' system there are quite strong antiferromagnetic Cu-O and O-O interaction which appear due to holes in oxygen subbands. These results are in line with the magnetic model of oxygen holes pairing in high-T(sub c) superconductors.

Turshevski, S. A.↗

Experimental evidence of a dimensional crossover in Y1Ba2Cu3O(7-delta)

High-resolution torque-magnetometry data have been obtained on an untwinned single crystal of Y1Ba2Cu3O(7-delta) in the temperature range 63-88 K (Tc = 90.5 K). At T = 80 K and above, the data are fitted extremely well with the accepted three-dimensional phenomenological theory, but below this temperature an anomalous torque develops when the magnetic field lies close to the Cu-O planes. The qualitative and quantitative features of these results provide strong evidence that breakdown of the three-dimensional description below 80 K is associated with a crossover to two-dimensional superconducting behavior.

Farrell, D. E.↗

Electron pairing in high-T(c) superconductors

For Cu-O systems, there may be considerable deviations from conventional antiferromagnetism when E(d)-E(p) is of about 0. When holes are introduced, then these systems may become superconductors because of the attractions between electron pairs.

Tsang, T.↗

Electron energy spectrum and magnetic interactions in high-Tc superconductors

The character of magnetic interactions in La-Sr-Cu-O and Y-Ba-Cu-O systems is of primary importance for analysis of high-T(sub c) superconductivity in these compounds. Neutron diffraction experiments showed the antiferromagnetic ground state for nonsuperconducting La2CuO4 and YBa2Cu3O6 with the strongest antiferromagnetic superexchange being in the ab plane. The nonsuperconducting '1-2-3' system has two Neel temperatures T(sub N1) and T(sub N2). The first one corresponds to the ordering of Cu atoms in the CuO2 planes; T(sub N2) reflects the antiferromagnetic ordering of magnetic moments in CuO chains relatively to the moments in the planes T(sub N1) and T(sub N2) which depend strongly on the oxygen content. Researchers describe magnetic interactions in high-T superconductors based on the Linear Muffin-Tin Orbitals (LMTO) band structure calculations. Exchange interaction parameters can be defined from the effective Heisenberg Hamiltonian. When the magnetic moments are not too large, as copper magnetic moments in superconducting oxides, J(sub ij) parameters can be defined through the non-local magnetic susceptibility of spin restricted solution for the crystal. The results of nonlocal magnetic susceptibility calculations and the values of exchange interaction parameters for La CuO and YBa2Cu3O7 systems are given in tabular form. Strong anisotropy of exchange interactions in the ab plane and along the c axis in La2CuO4 is obviously seen. The value of Neel temperature found agrees well with the experimental data available. In the planes of '1-2-3' system there are quite strong antiferromagnetic Cu-O and O-O interaction which appear due to holes in oxygen subbands. These results are in line with the magnetic model of oxygen holes pairing in high-T(sub c) superconductors.

Turshevski, S. A.↗

Electronic properties of Y-Ba-Cu-O superconductors as seen by Cu and O NMR/NQR

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance (NQR) allow the investigation of electronic properties at the atomic level. We will report on such studies of typical members of the the Y-Ba-Cu-O family such as YBa2Cu30(6 + x) (1-2-3-(6 + x)), YBa2Cu4O8 (1-2-4) and Y2Ba4Cu7015 (2-4-7) with many examples of recent work performed in our laboratory. In particular, we will deal with Knight shift and relaxation studies of copper and oxygen. We will discuss important issues of current studies such as: (1) Existence of a common electronic spin-susceptibility in the planes (and perhaps in the chains) of 1-2-4; (2) Strong evidence for the existence of a pseudo spin-gap of the antiferromagnetic fluctuations in 1-2-4 and 2-4-7; (3) Evidence for d-wave pairing in 1-2-4; (4) Strong coupling of inequivalent Cu-O planes in 2-4-7 and possible origin for the high Tc value of this compound; and (5) The possibility to describe NMR data in the framework of a charge-excitation picture.

Brinkmann, D.↗

Trans-Bis(acetato-0)bis(4-methylpyridine-N)copper(II)

The structure of trans-bis(acetato-O)bis (4-methylpyridine-N)copper(II), (Cu(C2H3O2)2(C6H7N)2), reported herein, represents a monomeric parent acetate complex with a distorted square-planar arrangement of acetate and 4-methylpyridine ligands around the Cu atom with the following distances and angles: Cu-N = 2.027(4) and Cu-O(1) = 1.950 (3) A; O(1)-Cu-N = 89.1 (2) and O(1)-Cu-N' = 90.0(2)deg. The Cu atom resides on a center of inversion. the most important dihedral angles are the angle between the 4-methylpyridine plane and the acetate plane (O(1), O(2), C(21), and C(22)), 78.2 deg, and the angle between the 4-methylpyridine ring and the coordination plane (Cu, N, O(1)), 31.6 deg.

Jedrzejas, Marek J.↗

Electronic Structure of TlBa2CaCu2O(7-Delta)

The core levels of TlBa2CaCu2O(7-delta) (Tl-1212) epitaxial films have been measured with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The valence electronic structure has been determined using the full-potential linear muffin-tin-orbital band-structure method and measured with XPS. The calculations show that a van Hove singularity (VHS) lies above the Fermi level (E(sub F)) for the stoichiometric compound (delta = 0.5), while for 50% oxygen vacancies in the Tl-O layer (delta = 0.5) E(sub F) is in close proximity to the VHS. Samples annealed in nitrogen (to reduce the hole overdoping by the removal of oxygen) exhibit higher core-level binding energies and a higher T(sub c), consistent with a shift of E(sub F) closer to the VHS. Comparisons are made to the core levels and valence bands of Tl2Ba2CaCu2O(8 + delta)(Tl-2212) and HgBa2CaCu2O)6 + delta) (Hg- 1212). The similarity of the Cu 2p(sub 3/2) spectra for Tl-1212 and Tl-2212 indicates that the number of Tl-O layers has little effect on the Cu-O bonding. However, the Tl-1212 and Hg-1212 Cu 2p(sub 3/2) signals exhibit differences which suggest that the replacement of T(sup 3+) with Hg(sup 2+) results in a decrease in the O 2p right arrow Cu 3d charge-transfer energy and differences in the probabilities of planar vs apical oxygen charge transfer and/or Zhang-Rice singlet-state formation. Differences between the Tl-1212 and the Tl-2212 and Hg-1212 measured valence bands are consistent with the calculated Cu 3d and (Tl,Hg) 6s/5d partial densities of states.

Vasquez, R. P.↗

Oxidation of Copper Alloy Candidates for Rocket Engine Applications

The gateway to affordable and reliable space transportation in the near future remains long-lived rocket-based propulsion systems; and because of their high conductivities, copper alloys remain the best materials for lining rocket engines and dissipating their enormous thermal loads. However, Cu and its alloys are prone to oxidative degradation -- especially via the ratcheting phenomenon of blanching, which occurs in situations where the local ambient can oscillate between oxidation and reduction, as it does in a H2/02- fuelled rocket engine. Accordingly, resistance to blanching degradation is one of the key requirements for the next generation of reusable launch vehicle (RLV) liner materials. Candidate copper alloys have been studied with a view to comparing their oxidation behavior, and hence resistance to blanching, in ambients corresponding to conditions expected in rocket engine service. These candidate materials include GRCop-84 and GRCop-42 (Cu - Cr-8 - Nb-4 and Cu - Cr-4 - Nb-2 respectively); NARloy-Z (Cu-3%Ag-0.5%Y), and GlidCop (Cu-O.l5%Al2O3 ODS alloy); they represent different approaches to improving the mechanical properties of Cu without incurring a large drop in thermal conductivity. Pure Cu (OFHC-Cu) was included in the study to provide a baseline for comparison. The samples were exposed for 10 hours in the TGA to oxygen partial pressures ranging from 322 ppm to 1.0 atmosphere and at temperatures of up to 700 C, and examined by SEM-EDS and other techniques of metallography. This paper will summarize the results obtained.

Ogbuji, Linus U. Thomas↗

Materials Data on CuO by Materials Project

CuO is Halite, Rock Salt structured and crystallizes in the cubic Fm-3m space group. The structure is three-dimensional. Cu2+ is bonded to six equivalent O2- atoms to form a mixture of edge and corner-sharing CuO6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles are 0°. All Cu–O bond lengths are 2.12 Å. O2- is bonded to six equivalent Cu2+ atoms to form a mixture of edge and corner-sharing OCu6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles are 0°.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗