Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Real-Time Atomistic Observation Of Structural Phase Transformations In Individual Hafnia Nanorods, Bethany M. Hudak, Sean W. Depner, Gregory R. Waetzig, Anjana Talapatra, Raymundo Arroyave, Sarbajit Banerjee, Beth S. Guiton

Chemistry Faculty Publications

High-temperature phases of hafnium dioxide have exceptionally high dielectric constants and large bandgaps, but quenching them to room temperature remains a challenge. Scaling the bulk form to nanocrystals, while successful in stabilizing the tetragonal phase of isomorphous ZrO₂, has produced nanorods with a twinned version of the room temperature monoclinic phase in HfO₂. Here we use in situ heating in a scanning transmission electron microscope to observe the transformation of an HfO₂ nanorod from monoclinic to tetragonal, with a transformation temperature suppressed by over 1000°C from bulk. When the nanorod is annealed, we observe with …