Ferroelectrics/antiferroelectrics with high dielectric breakdown strength have the potential to store a great amount of electrical energy, attractive for many modern applications in electronic devices and systems. Here, it is demonstrated that a giant electric energy density (154 J cm−3, three times the highest value of lead‐based systems and five times the value of the best dielectric/ferroelectric polymer), together with the excellent fatigue‐free property, good thermal stability, and high efficiency, is realized in pulsed laser deposited (Bi1/2Na1/2)0.9118La0.02Ba0.0582(Ti0.97Zr0.03)O3 (BNLBTZ) epitaxial lead‐free relaxor thin films with the coexistence of ferroelectric (FE) and antiferroelectric (AFE) phases. This is endowed by high epitaxial quality, great relaxor dispersion, and the coexistence of the FE/AFE phases near the morphotropic phase boundary. The giant energy storage effect of the BNLBTZ lead‐free relaxor thin films may make a great impact on the modern energy storage technology.
12 June 2015 in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
A highly textured (111)-oriented Pb0.8Ba0.2ZrO3 (PBZ) relaxor thin film with the coexistence of antiferroelectric (AFE) and ferroelectric (FE) phases was prepared on a Pt/TiOx/SiO2/Si(100) substrate by using a sol–gel method. A large recoverable energy storage density of 40.18 J/cm3 along with an efficiency of 64.1% was achieved at room temperature. Over a wide temperature range of 250 K (from room temperature to 523 K), the variation of the energy density is within 5%, indicating a high thermal stability. The high energy storage performance was endowed by a large dielectric breakdown strength, great relaxor dispersion, highly textured orientation, and the coexistence of FE and AFE phases. The PBZ thin film is believed to be an attractive material for applications in energy storage systems over a wide temperature range.
BiFeO3/Reduced Graphene Oxide (BFO/RGO) composites have been fabricated by a simple hydrothermal method. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis reveal that graphene oxide was reduced in hydrothermal process and BFO/RGO composites were successfully synthesized. UV-visible absorption and photoluminescence properties show that the introduction of RGO can effectively reduce the recombination of photogenerated electron and hole pairs. Compared to the pristine BFO, the photocatalytic performance of BiFeO3 Graphene Oxide (BGO) composites is enhanced for the degradation of Methylene blue (MB) solution under visible light irradiation, and the result shows that the optimal amount of Graphene Oxide (GO) in the composites is 60 mg (BGO60). The excellent photocatalytic performance is mainly ascribed to improved light absorption, increased reactive sites, and the low recombination rate of electron-hole pairs. This work can provide more insights into designing advanced photocatalysts for wastewater treatment and environmental protection.
The considerable investigations of ferroelectric polymer thin films have explored new functional devices for flexible electronics industry. Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and its copolymer with trifluoroethylene (TrFE) are the most commonly used polymer ferroelectric due to their well‐defined ferroelectric properties and ease of fabrication into thin films. In this study, we review the recent advances of thin ferroelectric polymer films for organic electronic applications. Initially the properties of ferroelectric polymer and fabrication methods of thin films are briefly described. Then the theoretical polarization switching models for ferroelectric polymer films are summarized and the switching mechanisms are discussed. Lastly the emerging ferroelectric devices based on P(VDF‐TrFE) films are addressed. Conclusions are drawn regarding future work on materials and devices.
In this study, MOF/BiFeO3 composite (MOF, metal-organic framework) has been synthesized successfully through a one-pot hydrothermal method. The MOF/BiFeO3 composite samples, pure MOF samples and BiFeO3 samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and by UV–vis spectrophotometry. The results and analysis reveal that MOF/BiFeO3 composite has better photocatalytic behavior for methylene blue (MB) compared to pure MOF and pure BiFeO3. The enhancement of photocatalytic performance should be due to the introduction of MOF change the surface morphology of BiFeO3, which will increase the contact area with MB. This composing strategy of MOF/BiFeO3 composite may bring new insight into the designing of highly efficient photocatalysts.
Chemical and topological parameters have been widely used for predicting the phase selection in high-entropy alloys (HEAs). Nevertheless, previous studies could be faulted due to the small number of available data points, the negligence of kinetic effects, and the insensitivity to small compositional changes. Here in this work, 92 TiZrHfM, TiZrHfMM, TiZrHfMMM (M = Fe, Cr, V, Nb, Al, Ag, Cu, Ni) HEAs were prepared by melt spinning, to build a reliable and sufficiently large material database to inspect the robustness of previously established parameters. Modification of atomic radii by considering the change of local electronic environment in alloys, was critically found out to be superior in distinguishing the formation of amorphous and crystalline alloys, when compared to using atomic radii of pure elements in topological parameters. Moreover, crystal structures of alloying element were found to play an important role in the amorphous phase formation, which was then attributed to how alloying hexagonal-close-packed elements and face-centered-cubic or body-centered-cubic elements can affect the mixing enthalpy. Findings from this work not only provide parametric studies for HEAs with new and important perspectives, but also reveal possibly a hidden connection among some important concepts in various fields.