Review
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Zenghui Liu, Hua Wu, Yi Yuan, Hongyan Wan, Zeng Luo, Pan Gao, Jian Zhuang, Jie Zhang, Nan Zhang, Jingrui Li, Yage Zhan, Wei Ren, Zuo-Guang Ye
Summary: This article reviews the recent progress in bismuth-based piezo-/ferroelectric perovskite materials, including material synthesis, doping effects, and chemical modifications. It also presents the developments of these materials for high-temperature electromechanical transduction applications and proposes possible solutions to existing issues.
CURRENT OPINION IN SOLID STATE & MATERIALS SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
Yanshuang Hao, Yiguan Li, Zhiyong Zhou, Ruihong Liang, Kaili Mei, Zhengyang Zhou, Genshui Wang
Summary: In this paper, an anomalous ferroelectric material Li0.5Bi2.5Nb2O9 (LBN) with small orthorhombic distortion but very high transition temperature was reported. LBN showed the highest transition temperature (834 degrees C) among currently reported prototype alkali-metal BLSFs, which was attributed to its small tolerance factor. The understanding gained from this work may contribute to the discovery of more novel BLSFs with high performance.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CERAMIC SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
Changbai Long, Ning Ji, Li Yang, Wenjie Zhou, Kun Zheng, Wei Ren, Laijun Liu
Summary: By co-substituting elements at different sites, the electrical properties of Ca-0.92(Li0.5Sm0.5)(0.08)Bi2Nb2-xWxO9 piezoceramics were significantly enhanced, leading to ultrahigh Curie temperature, piezoelectric activity, and bulk resistivity in the optimal composition.
JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN CERAMIC SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Linda Abbassi, David Mesguich, Loic Coulomb, Geoffroy Chevallier, Romain Aries, Claude Estournes, Emmanuel Flahaut, Romain Viennois, Mickael Beaudhuin
Summary: In this paper, a simple route to synthesize nano-beta-FeSi2 material is reported. The impact of spark plasma sintering parameters on the material properties is studied. Experimental results show that high-density nano-beta-FeSi2 pellets can be obtained using this method in a short time.
JOURNAL OF ALLOYS AND COMPOUNDS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jianyi Liu, Weijin Chen, Mengjun Wu, Fei Sun, Xiang Huang, Yue Zheng
Summary: Mechanical control of bidirectional 180 degrees switching in tip-film architectures is demonstrated in this study through first-principles-based molecular dynamics simulations. The competition between flexoelectric field and effective dipolar field plays a crucial role in the switching process, and bidirectional switching is achieved by applying tip force pulses with alternatively varying strength.
NPJ COMPUTATIONAL MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Hao Pan, Zishen Tian, Megha Acharya, Xiaoxi Huang, Pravin Kavle, Hongrui Zhang, Liyan Wu, Dongfang Chen, John Carroll, Robert Scales, Cedric J. G. Meyers, Kathleen Coleman, Brendan Hanrahan, Jonathan E. E. Spanier, Lane W. W. Martin
Summary: It is demonstrated that the polarization switching behavior of antiferroelectrics can be strongly influenced and effectively regulated by point defects. In the case of PbZrO3 films, the decrease in oxygen pressure during deposition leads to unexpected ferroelectric-like polarization switching, attributed to the creation of bombardment-induced point-defect complexes. These complexes pin the antiferroelectric-ferroelectric phase boundaries and delay the phase transition under changing field. By controlling the concentration of defect complexes, the dielectric tunability of PbZrO3 can be adjusted, including the conversion of positive and negative tunability near zero field.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Haoying Sun, Jiahui Gu, Yongqiang Li, Tula R. Paudel, Di Liu, Jierong Wang, Yipeng Zang, Chengyi Gu, Jiangfeng Yang, Wenjie Sun, Zhengbin Gu, Evgeny Y. Tsymbal, Junming Liu, Houbing Huang, Di Wu, Yuefeng Nie
Summary: By applying uniaxial strain, we achieved pure in-plane polarized ferroelectricity in ultrathin SrTiO3 membranes, which allows for the investigation of ferroelectric size effects without the interference of the depolarization field. Our study reveals that the stability of ferroelectricity is influenced by the thickness-dependent dipole-dipole interactions within the transverse Ising model.
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Peng Chen, Charles Paillard, Hong Jian Zhao, Jorge Iniguez, Laurent Bellaiche
Summary: This paper investigates the control of electric polarization in ferroelectric materials at room temperature. By conducting simulations, the authors reveal the reasons behind the observed transient partial reversal and propose a method to deterministically control the ferroelectric polarization using stimuli. These findings provide guidance for the development of novel ultrafast optoferroic devices.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Laurent Molino, Leena Aggarwal, Vladimir Enaldiev, Ryan Plumadore, Vladimir I. Falko, Adina Luican-Mayer
Summary: This study demonstrates the local control of ferroelectric domains in a marginally twisted WS2 bilayer using a scanning tunneling microscope at room temperature, and the reversible evolution of these domains is explained using a string-like model of the domain wall network. The results show that it is possible to achieve full control over atomically thin semiconducting ferroelectric domains using local electric fields, which is critical for technological applications.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Laurent Molino, Leena Aggarwal, Vladimir Enaldiev, Ryan Plumadore, Vladimir I. Falko, Adina Luican-Mayer
Summary: This study demonstrates the local control of ferroelectric domains in marginally twisted WS2 bilayers using a scanning tunneling microscope at room temperature, and explains their reversible evolution using a string-like model of the domain wall network. The results show the possibility of achieving full control over atomically thin semiconducting ferroelectric domains using local electric fields, which is a critical step towards their technological use.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Physics, Applied
Sanu K. Gupta, Brady J. Gibbons, Peter Mardilovich, David P. Cann
Summary: The sintering time has an impact on enhancing the piezoelectric properties of Sr(Hf0.5Zr0.5)O-3-modified Bi-0.5(Na0.8K0.2)TiO3 ceramics, with evidence of a ferroelectric to relaxor transition when the sintering time increases. Additionally, changes in the dielectric properties and impedance spectroscopy data were observed during the sintering process.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Inorganic & Nuclear
Ioanna Ioannou, Panagiotis S. Ioannou, Theodora Kyratsi, John Giapintzakis
Summary: This paper demonstrates a low-cost and facile method for preparing highly-efficient Bi2Te3-based thermoelectric materials. P-type BixSb2-xTe3 (x = 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5) nanostructured powders were fabricated via mechanical alloying and consolidated into pellets by hot-press sintering. The effect of Bi/Sb ratio on the thermoelectric properties was investigated, showing that samples with lower Bi concentration exhibited higher electrical conductivity and power factor values due to higher hole density and mobility. The absence of preferred grain orientation and the high density of grain boundaries in these nanostructured materials led to significantly low lattice thermal conductivity. Consequently, a peak ZT of 1.13 at 355 K and an average ZT of 1.01 over the investigated temperature range were achieved for Bi0.3Sb1.7Te3, suggesting the advantageous potential of mechanical alloying for single-step synthesis of highly-efficient thermoelectric BixSb2-xTe3 alloys.
JOURNAL OF SOLID STATE CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Physics, Applied
Tao Jing, Dongmei Liang, Xincheng Huang, Mingsen Deng, Shaohong Cai, Wenjiang Liu
Summary: This study systematically explores the interfacial properties of graphene/In2Te3 heterostructures by employing first principles calculations. The electronic structures of graphene and In2Te3 monolayer are well preserved upon contact, and the transition between n-type Ohmic and p-type Schottky contacts can be realized by switching the polarity of In2Te3.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICS D-APPLIED PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
Tiberiu Roman, Daniel Gherca, Adrian-Iulian Borhan, Marian Grigoras, George Stoian, Nicoleta Lupu, Ina Turcan, Nicanor Cimpoesu, Bogdan Istrate, Ioana Radu, Raluca-Stefania Danila, Aurel Pui
Summary: The synthesis of Quaternary Ni(1-x)CuxFe(2-y)CeyO(4) complex nano-ferrites system with different cerium content ratio and copper substitution degree was achieved using co-precipitation wet chemical technique. The nanoparticles were heated up to 600 degrees C to stabilize the specific crystalline spinel structure, with a limit of cerium content around 0.08 to 0.10. Thermal treatment at 950 degrees C affected phases segregation, with differences in color and size of pelletized samples observed. The study deeply analyzed the cation distribution, crystal structure, morphology, magnetic, and electrical properties of the samples.
CERAMICS INTERNATIONAL
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Jafar Hussain Shah, Anum Shahid Malik, Ahmed Mahmoud Idris, Saadia Rasheed, Hongxian Han, Can Li
Summary: In this study, particulate BFO and Mn-doped BiFeO3 were synthesized by the sol-gel method, demonstrating that Mn doping significantly enhances the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity under visible light irradiation. The bandgap of Mn-doped BFO could be reduced by varying the Mn doping amount, leading to improved absorption of visible light and decreased activation energy for water oxidation. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations suggested that surface Fe species are the active sites for water oxidation, with Mn doping leading to the lowest over-potential measured in this study. The synergistic effect of bandgap narrowing in Mn-doped BFO increases the photocatalytic water oxidation activity by inhibiting charge recombination and reducing activation energy.
CHINESE JOURNAL OF CATALYSIS
(2021)
Article
Physics, Applied
Carmen M. Fernandez-Posada, Alicia Castro, Rafael P. del Real, Miguel Alguero, Harvey Amorin
Summary: The article discusses the promising approach of using phase-change phenomena at structural instabilities to achieve a large magnetoelectric response in single-phase materials, with examples such as BiFeO3-PbTiO3 showing distinctive magnetoelectric effects and field-driven phase-change phenomena.
APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
Layiq Zia, G. Hassnain Jaffari, Ricardo Jimenez, Inigo Bretos, Harvey Amorin, Miguel Alguero, Enrique Rodriguez-Castellon, M. Lourdes Calzada
Summary: Solution-derived BFO-PTO thin films were crystallized at low temperature using rapid thermal annealing to minimize volatilization of Bi and Pb. The films exhibited columnar growth and large grain size, allowing for measurement of ferroelectric hysteresis loops at room temperature with high ferroelectric response.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CERAMIC SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
Harvey Amorin, Michel Venet, Eva Chinarro, Pablo Ramos, Miguel Alguero, Alicia Castro
Summary: This study focuses on the application of high-energy milling for the mechanosynthesis of nanocrystalline Ba0.85Ca0.15Zr0.1Ti0.9O3 powders and the control of grain growth during ceramic processing. It also investigates a new mechanism for very large strain under electric field in fine-grained ceramics.
JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN CERAMIC SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Eduardo Barriuso, Panagiotis Koutsogiannis, David Serrate, Javier Herrero-Martin, Ricardo Jimenez, Cesar Magen, Miguel Alguero, Pedro A. Algarabel, Jose A. Pardo
Summary: This study presents the direct growth of single-phase epitaxial Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 films with non-centrosymmetric orthorhombic structure on electrode-free corundum substrates using pulsed laser deposition. The high-quality films belong to the Pca2(1) space group with [111] out-of-plane orientation. The surface of the films exhibits an atomic step-terrace structure with a corrugation of one atomic layer, and the films consist of grains with around 10 nm lateral size as observed by atomic force microscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy. The polar nature of the films is confirmed by pyroelectric measurements, providing insights into the mechanisms of epitaxial stabilization of the ferroelectric phase of hafnia.
Article
Physics, Applied
Miguel Alguero, Rafael P. del Real, Harvey Amorin, Alicia Castro
Summary: This study investigates the magnetism and dielectric properties of Aurivillius layered oxides, uncovering coexisting magnetic orders, Morin-like transition, and relaxor-like characteristics. Possible explanations involve the presence of Fe2+, cation partitioning at B-sites, and the development of polar nanodomains within a ferroelectric phase at a spin reorientation transition.
APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
Polona Hudelja, Rainer Schmidt, Harvey Amorin, Sandra Drev, Aljaz Ivekovic, Anze Abram, Andraz Kocjan, Bernd Wicklein
Summary: Ceramic matrix composites (CMC) consisting of 8 mol.% yttria-stabilized zirconia (8YSZ) mixed with nano cellulose were prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS). The addition of nanocellulose significantly improved the densification of the ceramic matrix and induced grain size refinement. The CMCs exhibited high stability and conductivity under reducing conditions, making them a promising candidate for high temperature electrochemical devices.
JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN CERAMIC SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jaime Gonzalez, Ali Ghaffarinejad, Maxim Ivanov, Paula Ferreira, Paula M. Vilarinho, Ana Borras, Harvey Amorin, Bernd Wicklein
Summary: In this study, the effect of combining nanosized carbon fillers with natural polymers such as cellulose on the enhancement of electrical properties in nanogenerator devices was investigated. It was found that the highest output voltage in triboelectric mode was obtained from cellulose films with carbon nanotubes and carbon black, while the highest piezoelectric voltage was produced in cellulose nanofiber-carbon nanotube films. The increased electricity generated from cellulose nanocomposites may lead to more efficient and biodegradable nanogenerators.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Marin Cernea, Roxana Radu, Harvey Amorin, Bogdan Stefan Vasile, Vasile Adrian Surdu, Roxana Trusca, Raluca Gavrila, Carmen Galassi
Summary: Motivated by the goal of developing ultralow power, smart and multifunctional nano (micro) electronic devices, research has shown unwavering interest in synthesis methods, architectures and interphase connectivity of composites containing magnetostrictive and piezoelectric phases, known as magnetoelectric (ME) materials. Herein we report on CoFe2O4/0.92Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3-0.08BaTiO3 biphasic ME composites, obtained by sol-gel chemistry, by mixing the precursor sols of the two phases into one precursor sol and further transforming it into gel, with the goal of obtaining homogeneous nanocomposites with magnetoelectric properties. The structural properties, the temperature dependance of dielectric properties, the magnetic and magnetoelectric properties of these biphasic mixtures, with various molar ratios CoFe2O4/ BNT-BT0.08 = 0.5:1, 1:1 and 1.5:1, are investigated. It is observed that the amount of CoFe2O4 and the synthesis in situ of these composites influences their macroscopic properties showing a high difficulty of carrying out an efficient poling resulting in small piezoelectric and magnetoelectric response. It was concluded that the synthesis procedure, the type of architecture and the interphase connectivity are of outmost importance for magnetoelectric properties based on lead-free materials. (c) 2023 Published by Elsevier B.V.
JOURNAL OF ALLOYS AND COMPOUNDS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
Samuel Lopez-Blanco, Diego A. Ochoa, Harvey Amorin, Alicia Castro, Miguel Alguero, Jose E. Garcia
Summary: Extensive research has been carried out to develop high-performance lead-free piezoceramics due to environmental concerns. The (Ba0.7Ca0.3)TiO3-Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O-3 system has emerged as a candidate for room temperature transducer applications. Conventional ceramic processing demands high energy consumption, but field-assisted flash sintering can significantly reduce sintering time and temperature while controlling grain growth.
JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN CERAMIC SOCIETY
(2023)
