The correlated-electron perovskite LaNiO₃ can be used to address some of the fundamental questions of transition metal oxides physics. Up to now, only polycrystalline samples of this nickelate have been generated. Scientist of the Materials Science Division under John F. Mitchell from Argonne National Lab managed to grow LaNiO₃ single crystals under high-pressure oxygen atmosphere. In a recent “Crystal Growth & Design” paper the researchers report the successful growth of single crystals of LaNiO₃ using the ScIDre high-pressure floating-zone furnace HKZ with up to 50 bar pO₂. The crystal structure, resistivity, heat capacity, and magnetic susceptibility of this material were thoroughly characterized. The authors conclude, that “the high-pressure floating zone growth of LaNiO₃ opens the door to a new opportunity space for preparing single crystals of other interesting perovskite nickelates." Furthermore, they recap: "This study demonstrates the power of high pO₂ single crystal growth of nickelate perovskites and correlated electron oxides more generally”.

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.cgd.7b00205