Playing with perovskites - tuning physics through chemical control

Speaker: Dr Helen Walker (STFC, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory)

The discovery of a CaTiO3 mineral by Gustav Rose in the Urals in 1839, might have been regarded as unremarkable at the time, but since then the perovskite structure has proved to be extremely versatile. It is currently the subject of intense research by geologists, environmental and materials scientists exploring hybrid organic-inorganic solar cell materials and alternative catalysts, and physicists, who look to exploit this versatility. I will present two very different examples of my research on perovskites. First I will look at the possibility of a square lattice double perovskite being the host to a spin liquid state, and second I will present results pushing the flexibility of the structure in the form of a family of metal organic frameworks, investigating how the magnetism can be tuned, with the aim of crystal engineering new multiferroic materials.