Charge-lattice interplay in layered cobaltates RBaCo2O5+x

X-ray diffraction, electrical resistivity and thermal expansion measurements are used to study the interrelation between the structural, magnetic and electron-transport peculiarities in RBaCo2O5+x (R=Y, Gd) over a wide range of oxygen contents. We find that the anisotropic lattice strain caused by the oxygen chain ordering in these compounds favors the metallic state and is a necessary condition for the coupled insulator-to-metal and spin-state phase transitions to occur. The obtained data point to the key role of the crystal lattice in selecting the preferred spin and orbital states of cobalt ions.