Photoinduced hidden monoclinic metallic phase of VO₂ driven by local nucleation.

ABSTRACT: The insulator-to-metal transition in VO₂ has garnered extensive attention for its potential applications in ultrafast switches, neuronal network architectures, and storage technologies. However, the photoinduced insulator-to-metal transition remains controversial, especially whether a complete structural transformation from the monoclinic to rutile phase is necessary. Here we employ the real-time time-dependent density functional theory to track the dynamic evolution of atomic and electronic structures in photoexcited VO₂, revealing the emergence of a long-lived monoclinic metal phase under low electronic excitation. The emergence of the metal phase in the monoclinic structure originates from the dissociation of the local V-V dimer, driven by the self-trapped and self

SUBMITTER: Guo FW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11696723 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature