Laboratory of Oxide Materials

Laboratory of Oxide Materials is oriented on preparation and characterization of complex oxide systems with interesting transport, magnetic and structural properties.

Materials: Mixed valency transition-metal oxides with perovskite or spinel related structure. It includes namely Co^3+/4+ and Mn^3+/4+ perovskites, Fe^2+/3+ hexaferrites and Cu^2+/3+ high-T_c superconductors.

Characterization methods: Electrical and thermal conductivity, thermopower, magnetic properties, X-ray and neutron diffraction.

Preparation methods: Polycrystalline samples synthesized by solid-state and sol-gel methods. Preparation under controlled atmosphere.

Electronic structure calculation of solids using density functional theory (DFT).

Phenomena: Analysis of electrical transport in the vicinity of phase transition, metal-insulator transition, relation between thermal and electrical transport. Local magnetic interactions and long distance ordering. Relation of transport anomalies to orbital polarization and orbital and charge ordering. Crystal and magnetic structure analysis.