Two-dimensional ferroelectricity in a single-element bismuth monolayer

Jian Gou (), Hua Bai, Xuanlin Zhang, Yu Li Huang, Sisheng Duan, A. Ariando, Shengyuan A. Yang, Lan Chen (), Yunhao Lu () and Andrew Thye Shen Wee ()
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Jian Gou: National University of Singapore
Hua Bai: Zhejiang University
Xuanlin Zhang: Zhejiang University
Yu Li Huang: Joint School of National University of Singapore and Tianjin University, International Campus of Tianjin University
Sisheng Duan: National University of Singapore
A. Ariando: National University of Singapore
Shengyuan A. Yang: Singapore University of Technology and Design
Lan Chen: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yunhao Lu: Zhejiang University
Andrew Thye Shen Wee: National University of Singapore

Nature, 2023, vol. 617, issue 7959, 67-72

Abstract: Abstract Ferroelectric materials are fascinating for their non-volatile switchable electric polarizations induced by the spontaneous inversion-symmetry breaking. However, in all of the conventional ferroelectric compounds, at least two constituent ions are required to support the polarization switching1,2. Here, we report the observation of a single-element ferroelectric state in a black phosphorus-like bismuth layer3, in which the ordered charge transfer and the regular atom distortion between sublattices happen simultaneously. Instead of a homogenous orbital configuration that ordinarily occurs in elementary substances, we found the Bi atoms in a black phosphorous-like Bi monolayer maintain a weak and anisotropic sp orbital hybridization, giving rise to the inversion-symmetry-broken buckled structure accompanied with charge redistribution in the unit cell. As a result, the in-plane electric polarization emerges in the Bi monolayer. Using the in-plane electric field produced by scanning probe microscopy, ferroelectric switching is further visualized experimentally. Owing to the conjugative locking between the charge transfer and atom displacement, we also observe the anomalous electric potential profile at the 180° tail-to-tail domain wall induced by competition between the electronic structure and electric polarization. This emergent single-element ferroelectricity broadens the mechanism of ferroelectrics and may enrich the applications of ferroelectronics in the future.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05848-5

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