Unlocking Electrostrain in Plastically Deformed Barium Titanate
Achieving substantial electrostrain alongside a large effective piezoelectric strain coefficient (d<sub>33</sub>*) in piezoelectric materials remains a formidable challenge for advanced actuator applications. Here, a straightforward approach to enhance these properties by strategically designing the domain structure and controlling the domain switching through the introduction of arrays of ordered {100}<100> dislocations is proposed. This dislocation engineering yields an intrinsic lock-in steady-state electrostrain of 0.69% at a low field of 10 kV cm<sup>-1</sup> without external stress and an output strain energy density of 5.24 J cm<sup>-3</sup> in single-crystal BaTiO<sub>3</sub>, outperforming the benchmark piezoceramics and relaxor ferroelectric single-crystals. Additionally, applying a compression stress of 6 MPa fully unlocks electrostrains exceeding 1%, yielding a remarkable d<sub>33</sub>* value over 10 000 pm V<sup>-1</sup> and achieving a record-high strain energy density of 11.67 J cm<sup>-3</sup>. Optical and transmission electron microscopy, paired with laboratory and synchrotron X-ray diffraction, is employed to rationalize the observed electrostrain. Phase-field simulations further elucidate the impact of charged dislocations on domain nucleation and domain switching. These findings present an effective and sustainable strategy for developing high-performance, lead-free piezoelectric materials without the need for additional chemical elements, offering immense potential for actuator technologies.
Authors
- Leopoldo Molina‐Luna (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9412-8093)
- Tianshu Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1524-3083)
- Lovro Fulanović (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9194-5688)
- Edoardo Zatterin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9691-5333)
- Nicolas Guiblin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4418-0547)
- Jürgen Rödel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8975-7741)
- Brahim Dkhil (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9862-625X)
- Fangping Zhuo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5194-320X)
- Long Cheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0527-3185)
- Patrick Breckner
- Daniel Isaia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3261-415X)
- Nengneng Luo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7033-7176)
- Yan Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0607-3166)
- Long‐Qing Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3359-3781)
- Bo Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3146-5559)
- Fan Ni (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9042-3423)
Institutions
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (US)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Pennsylvania State University (US)
- Guangxi University (CN)
- Université Paris-Saclay (FR)
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (FR)
- Technische Universität Darmstadt (DE)
- CentraleSupélec (FR)
- The University of Osaka (JP)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Materials
- Published
- 2024-10-31
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202413713
- Citations
- 19
- Primary Topic
- Ferroelectric and Piezoelectric Materials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.23
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- U.S. Department of Energy
- Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- Agence Nationale de la Recherche
- China Scholarship Council
- Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of Guangxi Province
- Division of Materials Research
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
- HORIZON EUROPE European Research Council