New modulated structures induced by electron beam irradiation in SrCrO3 single crystal.

Three new modulated structures induced by controllable electron beam irradiation (EBI) were obtained from SrCrO 3 single crystal. The crystal and electronic structures were investigated using aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) and ab initio calculations. The EELS results revealed that EBI induced ordered oxygen vacancies and generated modulated structures SrCrO 2.5 (I 4 /mmm), SrCrO 2.8 (C 2/ m) and SrCrO 2.67 (C 2 /m) from pristine SrCrO 3 (Pmm). The corresponding structural models were proposed and modified by ab initio calculations. Additionally, the electronic structures of the optimized modulated structures were further investigated. [Display omitted] • SrCrO 3 containing Cr4+ ions possesses anomalous electronic states and physical properties. • By using the aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy, we found that the electron beam irradiation induces three kinds of modulated structure. • Our work shows the plentiful properties of the material and deepens our understanding on this material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]