Tailoring high-energy storage NaNbO<sub>3</sub>-based materials from antiferroelectric to relaxor states.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 36934123.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-023-37060-4 and PMC identifier 10024729.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Reversible field-induced phase transitions define antiferroelectric perovskite oxides and lay the foundation for high-energy storage density materials, required for future green technologies. However, promising new antiferroelectrics are hampered by transition´s irreversibility and low electrical resistivity. Here, we demonstrate an approach to overcome these problems by adjusting the local structure and defect chemistry, delivering NaNbO<sub>3</sub>-based antiferroelectrics with well-defined double polarization loops. The attending reversible phase transition and structural changes at different length scales are probed by in situ high-energy X-ray diffraction, total scattering, transmission electron microcopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. We show that the energy-storage density of the antiferroelectric compositions can be increased by an order of magnitude, while increasing the chemical disorder transforms the material to a relaxor state with a high energy efficiency of 90%. The results provide guidelines for efficient design of (anti-)ferroelectrics and open the way for the development of new material systems for a sustainable future.