Atomic scale observation of a defect-mediated first-order phase transition in VO ₂ (A)

The study of first-order structural transformations has attracted extensive attention due to their significant scientific and industrial importance. However, it remains challenging to exactly determine the nucleation sites at the very beginning of the transformation. Here, we report the atomic scale real-time observation of a unique defect-mediated reversible phase transition between the low temperature phase (LTP) and the high temperature phase (HTP) of VO₂(A). In situ Cs-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) images clearly indicate that both phase transitions (from the HTP to the LTP and from the LTP to the HTP) start at the defect sites in parent phases. Intriguingly, the structure of the defects within the LTP is demonstrated to be the HTP of VO₂ (A), and the defect in the HTP of VO₂(A) is determined to be the LTP structure of VO₂(A). These findings are expected to broaden our current understanding of the first-order phase transition and shed light on controlling materials' structure-property phase transition by "engineering" defects in applications.