Credit: Image courtesy of Scott Chambers
Movement of electrons among the atoms in a material (referred to as conductivity) is critical to many of the material’s properties. In this research, scientists found different modes of conductivity in magnetite (Fe3O4) when one third of the iron atoms (Fe) are replaced with chromium (Cr) to form the semiconductor chromium ferrite (Fe2CrO4); see image. They now understand how the electrons hop from one atom to another, depicted by the black arrow, that are active as chromium replaces iron in the structure.