Danilo Suvorov, Tailoring defined-shape ferroelectric particles for various ferro- and piezoelectric applications

D. Suvorov1, M. Macek-Krzmanc1 and H. Ursic Nemevsek2

1Advanced Materials Department, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 1000

2Electronic ceramics Department, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 1000

 

Ferroelectric perovskites exhibit great potential for many applications that require a size down to the nanometre range. For this reason the interest in preparing defined-shape ferroelectric nanoparticles has increased tremendously in the past 10 years. These ferroelectric nanoparticles, with a unique anisotropic shape and size-dependent properties that differ from their bulk counterparts, also represent a challenge to fabricate the nanostructures via their self-assembly. If the direction of spontaneous electric polarization of the ferroelectric particles could be tuned, then these particles or their self-assembled structures are expected to make a significant breakthrough in the field of memory storage, piezoelectric sensors, ferroelectric-photovoltaic devices, photocatalysis and energy harvesting.

Due to the high symmetry of their crystal structure, ABO3 perovskites do not show a tendency to grow in defined anisotropic shapes such as plates or needles. In this presentation a critical overview of past research will be presented. In addition, a study of the formation and the resulting properties of perovskite Ba1-xSrxTiO3 micro- and nano-plates that were realized by the in-situ topochemical transformation of the layered perovskite Bi4Ti3O12 precursor template will be reported. The influence of the Bi4Ti3O12 template dimensions, the Ba/Sr ratio and the conversion conditions on the size, tetragonality and orientation of the single-crystalline Ba1-xSrxTiO3 micro and nano-plates were also examined in great detail. The main focus was on preparing highly tetragonal (002)-oriented Ba1-xSrxTiO3 plates with nano dimensions. Their piezoelectric, ferroelectric characteristics and domain structure were studied by means of electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and piezo-force microscopy (PFM).

For these materials, the application potential of highly oriented, micro- and nano-plates based on Ba1-xSrxTiO3 will be discussed.

Plenary lectures - YUCOMAT 2016

member since 2008