Glass-like kinetic arrest of first-order structural phase transition in LaxMnO3{\pm}{\delta} (x= 1 & 0.9)

TL;DR

This study demonstrates glass-like kinetic arrest of a first-order phase transition in LaxMnO3±δ, triggered by e-beam irradiation, revealing insights into the suppression of structural distortion and phase stability at low temperatures.

Contribution

It provides the first evidence of kinetic arrest in LaxMnO3±δ and links it to suppression of Jahn-Teller distortion by double exchange mechanisms.

Findings

Kinetic arrest prevents phase transition below certain temperatures.

E-beam irradiation can trigger phase transformation in supercooled samples.

The phenomenon is similar to behavior observed in stable glass-formers.

Abstract

We report here the occurrence of glass-like kinetic-arrest of first-order phase transition of R-3c to Pbnm in a supercooled LaxMnO3\pm{\delta} (X= 1 & 0.9 and {\delta}>0.125) below its insulator-metal transition employing low-temperature transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and x-ray diffraction. No transformation was observed even in a ~12 hrs aged LaxMnO3\pm{\delta} at 98K until unless it was triggered insitu using e-beam irradiation in TEM. A systematic triggering at different temperatures has revealed the occurrence of kinetic-arrest situation similar to stable glass-formers. This has been attributed to the suppression of Johan-Teller distortion by double exchange. PACS number(