Multiple structural components and their competition in the intermediate state of antiferroelectric Pb(Zr,Ti)O.sub.3./sub.

0547454 - FZÚ 2022 RIV US eng J - Journal Article
An, Z. - Yokota, H. - Zhang, N. - Pasciak, Marek - Fábry, Jan - Kopecký, Miloš - Kub, Jiří - Zhang, G. - Glazer, A.M. - Welberry, T.R. - Ren, W. - Ye, Z. -G.
Multiple structural components and their competition in the intermediate state of antiferroelectric Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃.
Physical Review B. Roč. 103, č. 5 (2021), č. článku 054113. ISSN 2469-9950. E-ISSN 2469-9969
R&D Projects: GA MŠMT(CZ) EF16_019/0000760
Grant - others:OP VVV - SOLID21(XE) CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000760; AV ČR(CZ) StrategieAV21/3
Program: StrategieAV
Institutional support: RVO:68378271
Keywords : antiferroelectrics * incommensurate structures * disorder
OECD category: Condensed matter physics (including formerly solid state physics, supercond.)
Impact factor: 3.908, year: 2021
Method of publishing: Limited access
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.103.054113

Antiferroelectric perovskites form an important family of functional electric materials. However, a full understanding of their crystal structural formation is still lacking. PbZrO3-based materials can serve as a model system for investigation because they undergo a typical phase transition sequence from the paraelectric to the antiferroelectric phase, passing through a possible intermediate phase that is poorly understood. Here we employ a combination of optical and scattering experiments and theoretical calculations to reveal the nature of the intermediate state. Evidence is found that this peculiar state consists of multiple short-range and long-range structural components, and their competition is crucial in stabilizing the antiferroelectric phase. External stimuli such as temperature change or chemical substitution can easily alter each component's energy landscape and thereby change the materials' electrical properties.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0323892