Metal-Insulator Transition and Jeff = 1/2 Spin-Orbit Insulating State in Rutile-based IrO2/TiO2 Superlattices

By combining 5d transition-metal oxides showing pronounced spin-orbit interactions and oxide-based heterostructures, we propose rutile-based IrO2/TiO2 superlattices as promising candidates for unconventional electronic properties. By means of density-functional-theory simulations complemented with Hubbard-like corrections, we focus on the evolution of the electronic structure as a function of the IrO2 layer thickness and predict the heterostructures to exhibit a thickness-controlled metal-to-insulator transition, crucially related to the connectivity among IrO6 octahedra. The subtle interplay between electron correlation and spin-orbit coupling leads to an almost pure Jeff = 1/2 spin-orbit insulating state at the level of atomically-thin IrO2 monolayer with almost isolated IrO6 octahedra, leading to a predicted emerging state awaiting for experimental confirmation.