Emergence of high piezoelectricity from competing local polar order-disorder in relaxor ferroelectrics

Hui Liu (), Xiaoming Shi, Yonghao Yao, Huajie Luo, Qiang Li, Houbing Huang (), He Qi, Yuanpeng Zhang, Yang Ren, Shelly D. Kelly, Krystian Roleder, Joerg C. Neuefeind, Long-Qing Chen, Xianran Xing and Jun Chen ()
Additional contact information
Hui Liu: University of Science and Technology Beijing
Xiaoming Shi: Beijing Institute of Technology
Yonghao Yao: University of Science and Technology Beijing
Huajie Luo: University of Science and Technology Beijing
Qiang Li: University of Science and Technology Beijing
Houbing Huang: Beijing Institute of Technology
He Qi: University of Science and Technology Beijing
Yuanpeng Zhang: Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Yang Ren: City University of Hong Kong
Shelly D. Kelly: X-ray Science Division, Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory
Krystian Roleder: University of Silesia
Joerg C. Neuefeind: Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Long-Qing Chen: Pennsylvania State University
Xianran Xing: University of Science and Technology Beijing
Jun Chen: University of Science and Technology Beijing

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Relaxor ferroelectrics are known for outstanding piezoelectric properties, finding a broad range of applications in advanced electromechanical devices. Decoding the origins of the enhanced properties, however, have long been complicated by the heterogeneous local structures. Here, we employ the advanced big-box refinement method by fitting neutron-, X-ray-based total scattering, and X-ray absorption spectrum simultaneously, to extract local atomic polar displacements and construct 3D polar configurations in the classical relaxor ferroelectric Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–PbTiO3. Our results demonstrate that prevailing order-disorder character accompanied by the continuous rotation of local polar displacements commands the composition-driven global structure evolution. The omnidirectional local polar disordering appears as an indication of macroscopic relaxor characteristics. Combined with phase-field simulations, it demonstrates that the competing local polar order-disorder between different states with balanced local polar length and direction randomness leads to a flattening free-energy profile over a wide polar length, thus giving rise to high piezoelectricity. Our work clarifies that the critical structural feature required for high piezoelectricity is the competition states of local polar rather than relaxor.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36749-w

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