Department of Physics and Astronomy MS 61, Rice University, 6100 Main St., Houston, TX 77005, USA.
Adv Mater. 2012 Sep 18;24(36):4896-923. doi: 10.1002/adma.201202018. Epub 2012 Aug 15.
Strongly correlated materials are profoundly affected by the repulsive electron-electron interaction. This stands in contrast to many commonly used materials such as silicon and aluminum, whose properties are comparatively unaffected by the Coulomb repulsion. Correlated materials often have remarkable properties and transitions between distinct, competing phases with dramatically different electronic and magnetic orders. These rich phenomena are fascinating from the basic science perspective and offer possibilities for technological applications. This article looks at these materials through the lens of research performed at Rice University. Topics examined include: Quantum phase transitions and quantum criticality in "heavy fermion" materials and the iron pnictide high temperature superconductors; computational ab initio methods to examine strongly correlated materials and their interface with analytical theory techniques; layered dichalcogenides as example correlated materials with rich phases (charge density waves, superconductivity, hard ferromagnetism) that may be tuned by composition, pressure, and magnetic field; and nanostructure methods applied to the correlated oxides VO₂ and Fe₃O₄, where metal-insulator transitions can be manipulated by doping at the nanoscale or driving the system out of equilibrium. We conclude with a discussion of the exciting prospects for this class of materials.
强关联材料深受电子-电子排斥相互作用的影响。这与许多常用材料（如硅和铝）形成鲜明对比，后者的性质受库仑排斥的影响较小。关联材料通常具有显著的性质，在不同的、竞争的相之间存在明显的转变，这些相具有截然不同的电子和磁序。这些丰富的现象从基础科学的角度来看非常有趣，并为技术应用提供了可能性。本文通过莱斯大学的研究来看待这些材料。所研究的主题包括：“重费米子”材料和铁磷高温超导体中的量子相变和量子临界点；计算从头算方法来研究强关联材料及其与分析理论技术的接口；层状二卤代物作为具有丰富相（电荷密度波、超导、硬铁磁）的关联材料的例子，这些相可以通过组成、压力和磁场进行调谐；以及应用于关联氧化物 VO₂和 Fe₃O₄ 的纳米结构方法，其中通过纳米尺度的掺杂或使系统偏离平衡可以操纵金属-绝缘体转变。最后，我们讨论了这类材料令人兴奋的前景。
