The electrochemical impact on electrostatic modulation of the metal-insulator transition in nickelates

For physical studies of correlated electron systems and for realizing novel device concepts, electrostatic modulation of metal-insulator transitions (MITs) is desired. The inherently high charge densities needed to modulate MITs make this difficult to achieve. The high capacitance of ionic liquids are attractive but, voltages are needed that can be in excess of the electrochemical stability of the system. Here, we show temperature/resistivity data that suggest electrostatic modulation of the MIT temperature of NdNiO3 in a wide regime. However, additional voltammetric and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements demonstrate the electrochemical impact of the electrostatic doping approach with ionic liquids.