Identification of large polarons and exciton polarons in rutile and anatase polymorphs of titanium dioxide

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Main Authors: Dai, Zhenbang, Giustino, Feliciano
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Dai, Zhenbang
Giustino, Feliciano
author_facet Dai, Zhenbang
Giustino, Feliciano
contents Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a wide-gap semiconductor with numerous applications in photocatalysis, photovoltaics, and neuromorphic computing. The unique functional properties of this material critically depend on its ability to transport charge in the form of polarons, namely narrow electron wavepackets accompanied by local distortions of the crystal lattice. It is currently well established that the most important polymorphs of TiO2, the rutile and anatase phases, harbor small electron polarons and small hole polarons, respectively. However, whether additional polaronic species exist in TiO2, and under which conditions, remain open questions. Here, we provide definitive answers to these questions by exploring the rich landscape of polaron quasiparticles in TiO2 via recently developed ab initio techniques. In addition to the already known small polarons, we identify three novel species, namely a large hole polaron in rutile, a large quasi-two-dimensional electron polaron in anatase, and a large exciton polaron in anatase. These findings complete the puzzle on the polaorn physics of TiO2 and pave the way for systematically probing and manipulating polarons in a broad class of complex oxides and quantum materials.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2411_15344
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Identification of large polarons and exciton polarons in rutile and anatase polymorphs of titanium dioxide
Dai, Zhenbang
Giustino, Feliciano
Materials Science
Applied Physics
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a wide-gap semiconductor with numerous applications in photocatalysis, photovoltaics, and neuromorphic computing. The unique functional properties of this material critically depend on its ability to transport charge in the form of polarons, namely narrow electron wavepackets accompanied by local distortions of the crystal lattice. It is currently well established that the most important polymorphs of TiO2, the rutile and anatase phases, harbor small electron polarons and small hole polarons, respectively. However, whether additional polaronic species exist in TiO2, and under which conditions, remain open questions. Here, we provide definitive answers to these questions by exploring the rich landscape of polaron quasiparticles in TiO2 via recently developed ab initio techniques. In addition to the already known small polarons, we identify three novel species, namely a large hole polaron in rutile, a large quasi-two-dimensional electron polaron in anatase, and a large exciton polaron in anatase. These findings complete the puzzle on the polaorn physics of TiO2 and pave the way for systematically probing and manipulating polarons in a broad class of complex oxides and quantum materials.
title Identification of large polarons and exciton polarons in rutile and anatase polymorphs of titanium dioxide
topic Materials Science
Applied Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.15344