Ultrahigh capacitive energy storage through dendritic nanopolar design.

Liu, Yajing; Zhang, Yang; Wang, Jing; Yang, Chao; Wang, Hongguang; MacManus-Driscoll, Judith L; Yang, Hao; van Aken, Peter A et al. · Science · 2025

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Electrostatic dielectric capacitors with ultrahigh power densities are sought after for advanced electronic and electrical systems owing to their ultrafast charge-discharge capability. However, low energy density resulting from low breakdown strength and suppressed polarization still remains a daunting challenge for practical applications. We propose a microstructural strategy with dendritic nanopolar (DNP) regions self-assembled into an insulator, which simultaneously enhances breakdown strength and high-field polarizability and minimizes energy loss and thus markedly improves energy storage performance and stability. For illustration, in this study, we achieved a high energy density of 215.8 joules per cubic centimeter with an efficiency of 80.7% at a high electric field of 7.4 megavolts per centimeter in a DNP structure-designed PbZr<sub>0.53</sub>Ti<sub>0.47</sub>O<sub>3</sub>-MgO film. The proposed strategy is generally applicable for development of high-performance dielectric microcapacitors.