Gigahertz Dielectric Polarization of Substitutional Single Niobium Atoms in Defective Graphitic Layers

Xuefeng Zhang, Junjie Guo, Pengfei Guan, Gaowu Qin, and Stephen J. Pennycook
Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 147601 – Published 1 October 2015
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Abstract

We synthesize two Nb/C composites with an order of magnitude difference in the density of single niobium atoms substituted into defective graphitic layers. The concentration and sites of single Nb atoms are identified using aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy and density functional theory. Comparing the experimental complex permittivity spectra reveals that a representative dielectric resonance at 16GHz originates from the intrinsic polarization of single Nb atom sites, which is confirmed by theoretical simulations. The single-atom dielectric resonance represents the physical limit of the electromagnetic response of condensed matter, and thus might open up a new avenue for designing electromagnetic wave absorption materials. Single-atom resonance also has important implications in understanding the correlation between the macroscopic dielectric behaviors and the atomic-scale structural origin.

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  • Received 6 January 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.147601

© 2015 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Xuefeng Zhang1,2,*, Junjie Guo3,6, Pengfei Guan4,‡, Gaowu Qin1,†, and Stephen J. Pennycook3,5

  • 1Key Laboratory for Anisotropy and Texture of Materials (MOE), School of Materials Science and Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, P. R. China
  • 2National Research Council Canada, 75, de Mortagne, Boucherville, Québec J4B 6Y4, Canada
  • 3Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
  • 4Beijing Computational Science Research Center, Beijing 100084, China
  • 5Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117576, Singapore
  • 6Key Laboratory of Interface Science and Engineering in Advanced Materials of Ministry of Education, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, P. R. China

  • *zhangxf@atm.neu.edu.cn
  • qingw@smm.neu.edu.cn
  • pguan@csrc.ac.cn

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Issue

Vol. 115, Iss. 14 — 2 October 2015

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