Orientation‐Engineered Insulator‐Metal Transition in Vanadium Dioxide
- 1Key Laboratory of Magnetic Molecules and Magnetic Information Materials of Ministry of Education and School of Materials Science and Engineering Shanxi Normal University Taiyuan China
- 2Research Institute of Materials Science Shanxi Key Laboratory of Advanced Magnetic Materials and Devices Shanxi Normal University Taiyuan China
Abstract
The artificial design of material microstructure in correlated oxides offers an emerging pathway for unlocking exotic electronic states through adjusting coupled order parameters. Here, we showcase the robust capability of a crystallographic orientation strategy in rationally designing insulator‐metal transition (IMT) functionality in the VO2 system, as driven by either critical temperature or protonation, giving rise to in‐plane anisotropic transport behavior and kinetically accelerated phase transition. Rutile‐on‐rutile epitaxy in VO2/TiO2 heterostructure enables the facile control over the c R‐axis orientation of VO2 films through engineering crystallographic orientations, which aligns the c R‐axis out of plane and enhances the orbital hybridization to extensively reduce the T IMT. Introducing a previously unexplored high‐Miller‐index (102) orientation offers an additional handle to tailor IMT behaviors in VO2 via mirror‐symmetry breaking, engendering in‐plane anisotropic IMT behaviors. Benefiting from tunable migration kinetics, hydrogen‐related electronic phase modulations in VO2/TiO2 (102) bilayer can be facilitated through inclined oxygen channels, a critical enabler for high‐speed iontronics. Hydrogen‐associated electronic orbital reconfigurations govern electronic localization of VO2 through protonation, as uncovered by theoretical calculations and synchrotron analysis. The present work identifies crystallographic orientation as a powerful tuning knob for adjusting IMT functionality in correlated systems, accessing exotic correlated electronic states.
Related
- Confined conduction channels near a metal-insulator transition
- Dynamic redox chemistry overrides insulator-to-metal transition control of illuminated methane oxidation over La 1− x Sr x CoO 3− δ perovskites
- Molecularly Engineered Nitrate Double Perovskites with Elevated Ferroelectric Phase Transition Temperature and Large Piezoelectric Response
- De novo Design of a Vanadium Haloperoxidase
- A Vanadium(II) Photosensitizer Delivered by Human Serum Albumin for Photodynamic Therapy
BibTeX
@article{zhou2026orientationengineered,
title = {{Orientation‐Engineered Insulator‐Metal Transition in Vanadium Dioxide}},
author = {Xuanchi Zhou and Xiaohui Yao and Wentian Lu and Chunwei Yao and Xiaomei Qiao},
journal = {Advanced Science},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1002/advs.77134},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.77134},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Orientation‐Engineered Insulator‐Metal Transition in Vanadium Dioxide
AU - Xuanchi Zhou
AU - Xiaohui Yao
AU - Wentian Lu
AU - Chunwei Yao
AU - Xiaomei Qiao
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/11
JO - Advanced Science
DO - 10.1002/advs.77134
UR - https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.77134
AB - The artificial design of material microstructure in correlated oxides offers an emerging pathway for unlocking exotic electronic states through adjusting coupled order parameters. Here, we showcase the robust capability of a crystallographic orientation strategy in rationally designing insulator‐metal transition (IMT) functionality in the VO2 system, as driven by either critical temperature or protonation, giving rise to in‐plane anisotropic transport behavior and kinetically accelerated phase transition. Rutile‐on‐rutile epitaxy in VO2/TiO2 heterostructure enables the facile control over the c R‐axis orientation of VO2 films through engineering crystallographic orientations, which aligns the c R‐axis out of plane and enhances the orbital hybridization to extensively reduce the T IMT. Introducing a previously unexplored high‐Miller‐index (102) orientation offers an additional handle to tailor IMT behaviors in VO2 via mirror‐symmetry breaking, engendering in‐plane anisotropic IMT behaviors. Benefiting from tunable migration kinetics, hydrogen‐related electronic phase modulations in VO2/TiO2 (102) bilayer can be facilitated through inclined oxygen channels, a critical enabler for high‐speed iontronics. Hydrogen‐associated electronic orbital reconfigurations govern electronic localization of VO2 through protonation, as uncovered by theoretical calculations and synchrotron analysis. The present work identifies crystallographic orientation as a powerful tuning knob for adjusting IMT functionality in correlated systems, accessing exotic correlated electronic states.
SN - 2198-3844
ER -