LaTiO3

LaTiO3 is a transition-metal oxide that belongs to the family of rare-earth titanates with the perovskite-derived structure. Its formula reflects a lanthanum cation occupying the A site and titanium in the +3 oxidation state at the B site, surrounded by oxide ions. The material is of interest as a strongly correlated electron system and serves as a canonical example of a Mott insulator in a d1 configuration.

Structurally, LaTiO3 crystallizes in an orthorhombic perovskite-related lattice (space group Pbnm) at room temperature. The TiO6 octahedra are tilted in a pattern known as a GdFeO3-type distortion, leading to deviations from the ideal cubic perovskite geometry. This distortion influences the electronic bandwidth and the balance between competing interactions in the material.

Electronically, LaTiO3 contains one electron in the Ti 3d t2g manifold (Ti3+). Strong electron-electron repulsion splits the band and localizes the d electron, giving a Mott insulating state despite a partially filled band. The compound exhibits antiferromagnetic order at low temperature, with a Neel temperature around 140–150 K. The magnetic structure is generally described as G-type antiferromagnetic. The orbital degrees of freedom are active, but long-range orbital order is not universally established, and spin–orbital coupling plays an important role.

LaTiO3 can be prepared by solid-state synthesis under reducing conditions to stabilize Ti3+. It is a prototype material for studying correlations, spin and orbital phenomena, and the broader RTiO3 series, where varying the rare-earth ion tunes lattice distortions and magnetic behavior.