Dynamic Dipole Engineering Enables Ultrahigh Energy Storage with Minimal Losses
Achieving high recoverable energy density (W<sub>rec</sub>) with near-unity efficiency (η) in lead-free dielectrics remains a major challenge for advanced pulse power capacitors, given their central role in emerging pulsed power systems and high-voltage electronics. Here, we show that targeted engineering of dynamic dipole behavior provides an effective route to remarkable energy storage performance. Guided by phase-field simulations, we design (Bi<sub>0.5</sub>Na<sub>0.5</sub>)TiO<sub>3</sub> (BNT)-based multilayer ceramic capacitors that transform a continuous network of strongly correlated dipoles into discrete nano-domains. Within each nano-domain, dipoles retain strong local cooperativity, which maintains high polarization while markedly suppressing hysteresis losses. As a result, the optimized multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) achieve a recoverable energy density of 16.2 J cm<sup>-3</sup>, an η of 98.5%, and a record-high figure of merit (W<sub>F</sub>) of 1080 at 650 kV cm<sup>-1</sup>. This moderate operating field also produces an ultrahigh energy storage strength (ξ) of 249 J kV<sup>-1</sup> m<sup>-2</sup>, highlighting the efficiency of the dipole-regulation strategy. These findings demonstrate that weakly correlated and dynamic dipoles can be harnessed to advance high-performance, lead-free energy storage devices and offer a viable design principle for next-generation capacitive technologies.
Authors
- shujun zhang
- D. F. Wang
- Yunyao Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4852-8811)
- Yu Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5533-556X)
- Wanbiao Hu
- Houbing Huang
- Ruiyi Jing (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6255-9016)
- Leiyang Zhang
- Zibin Chen
- Jiyang Xie
- Kaiyuan Liu
- Yuxiao Du
- Haibo Zhang
- Xuefeng Chen
- Limei Zheng
- Hua Tan
- Xiaoming Shi
- Li Jin
Institutions
- Beijing Institute of Technology (CN)
- Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HK)
- Shandong University (CN)
- City University of Hong Kong (HK)
- Yunnan University (CN)
- Harbin Institute of Technology (CN)
- Shanghai Institute of Ceramics (CN)
- Huazhong University of Science and Technology (CN)
- Xi'an Jiaotong University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Materials
- Published
- 2026-01-20
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202522905
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Dielectric materials and actuators
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 21.28