Such a phase separation scenario bridges the gap between the double-exchange model and the lattice distortion models. The signatures of EPS can be revealed by different techniques depending on the length scale on which it occurs. For mesoscopic phase separation, diffraction techniques can be used to reveal its

distinct features since the size scale of the inhomogeneities is large enough to produce well-defined find more reflections in neutron and X-ray diffraction patterns [9]. However, for the nanoscopic electronic inhomogeneity in manganites, both TEM, high-resolution TEM and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), and STM can be used to reveal the coexistence of nanoscopic charge-ordered (insulating) BI 6727 research buy domains and the FM metallic domains, giving the local structural information at atomic level [5]. It is often difficult to identify EPS www.selleckchem.com/products/Cyt387.html based on the magnetization and transport measurements because of the sensitivity of phase separation to magnetic fields. Thus, magnetic fields transform the antiferromagnetic insulating

state to the ferromagnetic metallic state. However, transport measurements, under favorable conditions, can provide valuable information on phase separation. EPS in low-dimensional perovskite manganite nanostructures Over the last decade, nanomaterials have received much attention from the scientific and engineering viewpoints. They exhibit different properties from those of bulk materials due to their small size and large surface-to-volume ratios, and become promising candidates for nanometer scale electronic, optical, and mechanical devices. Recent advances

in science and technology of perovskite manganites have most resulted in the feature sizes of perovskite manganite-based oxide electronic devices entering into nanoscale dimensions. As the spatial dimension of the low-dimensional manganite nanostructures is reduced to the characteristic EPS length scale, quite dramatic changes in their transport properties such as ultrasharp jumps of magnetoresistance, reentrant MIT, negative differential resistances, and intrinsic tunneling magnetoresistance could appear, which are believed to be caused in large part by the EPS in perovskite manganite nanostructures [27–33]. They have significant impacts on fabricating oxide-based novel devices. To better understand the EPS phenomenon in low-dimensional perovskite manganite nanostructures, in the past several years, various synthetic methods such as sol–gel technique [47], hydrothermal synthesis [48, 49], electro-spinning process [50, 51], template method [52–54], and lithographic techniques [27, 29–31, 33, 34] have been developed to fabricate low-dimensional manganite nanostructures, such as manganite nanoparticles, nanowires/nanotubes, and nanostructured films/patterns.