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First principles study of [111]-oriented epitaxially strained rare-earth nickelate NdNiO3

Alexander Lione1, Jorge Íñiguez-González2,3, and Nicholas C. Bristowe1

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Phys. Rev. B 113, 014119 – Published 29 January, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/k48x-mvw1

Abstract

Density functional theory is used to investigate the effect of biaxial strain on the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of [111]-oriented NdNiO3, as a representative of the rare-earth perovskites that undergo metal-to-insulator transitions. We find that this constraint on the system induces unique structural phase transitions not previously observed under the well-studied bulk or [001]-oriented strained systems. We also report unique electronic behavior, including amplification of the electronic band gap with tensile strain, and insulating, charge-ordered phases with nonorthorhombic tilt patterns. To provide clarity to the trends we observe, we also investigate the coupling between the breathing mode and strain, where we observe certain strains to directly favor and disfavor the creation of the breathing mode (and thus the associated charge-ordering). The amplification of the band gap with strain is understood in terms of a cooperative coupling between the elastic constraint and octahedral breathing, which expands on the previously reported triggered mechanism mediated by octahedral tilting.

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Outline

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Phys. Rev. B 113, 014119– Published 29 January, 2026
  • Received 28 July 2025
  • Revised 28 November 2025
  • Accepted 22 December 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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