Approaching the structure of heavily defective ionic oxides through atomistic modeling

Abstract

A methodology, based on a combination of Molecular Dynamics, Monte Carlo and Energy Minimization techniques, has been developed for determining the distribution of mobile ions in heavily defective oxides. We present its application to a superionic lithium lanthanum titanate perovskite, that shows how the lattice A sites become segregated into two sublattices, one rich in La, the other in Li and vacancies. Furthermore, we find an inherent instability of the static structure and the presence of a 3-D tunnel structure. © 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.