Direct Visualization of Fast Surface Ion Diffusion in Vanadium Dioxide Nanowires

Diffusion of atoms in vanadium dioxide is at the heart of using ionic gating or chemical doping to modulate its metal insulator transition for potential Mott transistors and create unusual electronic phases. Here we report direct ion diffusion in vanadium dioxide (VO₂) nanowires (NWs) by using photocurrent imaging. Alkali metal ions are injected into a NW segment via ionic liquid gating and are shown to diffuse along the NW axis. The visualization of ion diffusion is realized by spatially resolved photocurrent measurements, which detect the charge carrier density change associated with the ion incorporation. Diffusion constants are determined to be on the order of 10^-10 cm²/s for both Li⁺ and Na⁺ ions at room temperature, while H⁺ diffuses much slower. The ion diffusion is also found to occur mainly at the surface of the NWs, as metal contacts can effectively block the ion diffusion. This novel method of visualizing ion distribution is expected to be applied to study ion diffusion in a broad range of materials, providing key insights on phase transition electronics and energy storage applications.