Metal-Insulator Transition in LiTi_2−xV_xO₄

Abstract

Resistivity, Seebeck coefficient, and the magnetic susceptibility were measured for the sintered pellets to see if a random distribution of Ti and V makes the oxide insulating. The oxide seems to be an insulator in the composition range 0.8<x<1.2. The magnetic susceptibility followed the Curie-Weiss law with different constants below and above about 500 K for x>1. It was a sum of the Pauli paramagnetic one of Ti³⁺ electrons and the Curie-Weiss one of V³⁺ electrons for x<1. A mechanism of the metal-insulator transition was discussed.