Imaging defects in vanadium(iii) oxide nanocrystals using Bragg coherent diffractive imaging

Abstract

Defects in strongly correlated materials such as V₂O₃ play influential roles on their electrical properties. Understanding the defects' structure is of paramount importance. In this project, we investigate defect structures in V₂O₃ grown via a flux method. We use AFM to see surface features in several large flake-like particles that exhibit characteristics of spiral growth. We also use Bragg coherent diffractive imaging (BCDI) to probe in 3 dimensions a smaller particle without flake-like morphology and note an absence of the pure screw dislocation characteristic of spiral growth. We identified and measured several defects by comparing the observed local displacement of the crystal, measured via BCDI to well-known models of the displacement around defects in the crystal. We identified two partial dislocations in the crystal. We discuss how defects of different types influence the morphology of V₂O₃ crystals grown via a flux method.