Organic–inorganic hybrid perovskites are promising candidates for the next-generation solar cells. Many efforts have been made to study their structures in the search for a better mechanistic understanding to guide the materials optimization. Here, we investigate the structure instability of the single-crystalline CH₃NH₃PbI₃ (MAPbI₃) film by using transmission electron microscopy. We find that MAPbI₃ is very sensitive to the electron beam illumination and rapidly decomposes into the hexagonal PbI₂. We propose a decomposition pathway, initiated with the loss of iodine ions, resulting in eventual collapse of perovskite structure and its decomposition into PbI₂. These findings impose important question on the interpretation of experimental data based on electron diffraction and highlight the need to circumvent material decomposition in future electron microscopy studies. The structural evolution during decomposition process also sheds light on the structure instability of organic–inorganic hybrid perovskites in solar cell applications.

Relaxor ferroelectric (RFE) films are promising energy-storage candidates for miniaturizing high-power electronic systems, which is credited to their high energy density ( U _e ) and efficiency. However, advancing their U _e beyond 200 joules per cubic centimeter is challenging, limiting their potential for next-generation energy-storage devices. We implemented a partitioning polar-slush strategy in RFEs to push the boundary of U _e . Guided by phase-field simulations, we designed and fabricated high-performance Bi(Mg _0.5 Ti _0.5 )O ₃ -SrTiO ₃ –based RFE films with isolated slush-like polar clusters, which were realized through suppression of the nonpolar cubic matrix and introduction of highly insulating networks. The simultaneous enhancement of the reversible polarization and breakdown strength leads to a U _e of 202 joules per cubic centimeter with a high efficiency of ~79%. The proposed strategy provides a design freedom for next-generation high-performance dielectrics.