Photo-/Electrocatalytic Reduction of CO Based on Ferroelectrics.

Converting CO into sustainable fuels or useful carbon-derived substances offers an effective strategy for tackling the energy crisis and combating global warming. Photo-/electrocatalytic CO reduction provides a simple, energy-efficient, and environmentally friendly route compared to existing technologies. Ferroelectric materials, characterized by their unique spontaneous and switchable polarization, have emerged as promising candidate catalysts due to their controllable surface physical and chemical properties.

Harnessing local inhomogeneity for enhanced dielectric energy storage.

Inorganic dielectric capacitors are highly demanded in pulsed systems due to their high-power output, but the low energy density limits device miniaturization. Relaxor ferroelectrics with local inhomogeneity are leading candidates for energy storage because of small hysteresis and relatively high polarization. However, the mechanism of local inhomogeneity in high-performance relaxor ferroelectrics is still not well understood due to limitations in characterization techniques and insufficient interpretation of computations.

Polymorphic Interface engineering for high-performance AgSe-based flexible thermoelectric device.

Flexible thermoelectric materials hold significant importance for various applications, especially as power generators or active coolers in portable devices. AgSe is a promising near-room-temperature thermoelectric material characterized by high carrier mobility and low lattice thermal conductivity. However, its high carrier concentration and limited flexibility restrict its further application.

Flexible high-entropy functional ceramics.

Functional ceramics, once integrated with flexibility, hold great promise for cutting-edge electronic devices. Unfortunately, functionality and flexibility are inherently exclusive in ceramics: the long-range order of ionic lattices bestows polarization-like properties that accompany brittleness, whereas disorder tolerates bond rotation to generate flexibility with significant loss of performance. Implanting ordered functional motifs within amorphous ceramics, though challenging, may balance this trade-off.

Colossal permittivity in high-entropy CaTiO ceramics by chemical bonding engineering.

Dielectrics with high permittivity, low dielectric loss, and good temperature stability are crucial for electronic components to meet the ever-increasing application demands. However, challenges remain in further optimizing dielectric properties due to the correlation between these parameters. Here, we propose a chemical bonding engineering strategy in high-entropy CaTiO ceramics and realize colossal permittivity with low loss and excellent stability.

Interface-Engineered Polar Topological Domains in Ferroelectric Nematic Liquid Crystals.

Polar topological domains, distinguished by their inherent topological protection and diverse optoelectronic functionalities, have recently attracted significant interest across scientific disciplines. However, the realization of these structures in inorganic materials is often impeded by crystal symmetry constraints. In this context, ferroelectric nematic liquid crystals, characterized by spontaneous polarization and flexible polarization orientation, provide an exceptional platform for the development of polar topological domains.

Iodide Ion-Assisted Silver-Telluride-Based Nanowires: Morphology Optimization and Efficient Doping for Improved Thermoelectric Application.

Silver-telluride-based nanowires (STNWs) are promising thermoelectric (TE) materials for room temperature (RT) applications, can be utilized to fabricate flexible TE composites or inks to facilitate TE conversion in various situations. However, current research on doping design and morphology optimization of STNWs is still limited. Such strategies are expected to enhance the TE performance and flexibility, thereby improving the compatibility of STNWs for TE applications.

Enhanced energy storage in antiferroelectrics via antipolar frustration.

Dielectric-based energy storage capacitors characterized with fast charging and discharging speed and reliability play a vital role in cutting-edge electrical and electronic equipment. In pursuit of capacitor miniaturization and integration, dielectrics must offer high energy density and efficiency. Antiferroelectrics with antiparallel dipole configurations have been of significant interest for high-performance energy storage due to their negligible remanent polarization and high maximum polarization in the field-induced ferroelectric state.

High-entropy engineered BaTiO-based ceramic capacitors with greatly enhanced high-temperature energy storage performance.

Ceramic capacitors with ultrahigh power density are crucial in modern electrical applications, especially under high-temperature conditions. However, the relatively low energy density limits their application scope and hinders device miniaturization and integration. In this work, we present a high-entropy BaTiO-based relaxor ceramic with outstanding energy storage properties, achieving a substantial recoverable energy density of 10.

Realization of Hydrogel Electrolytes with High Thermoelectric Properties: Utilization of the Hofmeister Effect.

Ionic thermoelectric materials, renowned for their high Seebeck coefficients, are gaining prominence for their potential in harvesting low-grade waste heat. However, the theoretical underpinnings for enhancing the performance of these materials remain underexplored. In this study, the Hoffmeister effect was leveraged to augment the thermoelectric properties of hydrogel-based ionic thermoelectric materials.

Carrier-phonon decoupling in perovskite thermoelectrics via entropy engineering.

Thermoelectrics converting heat and electricity directly attract broad attentions. To enhance the thermoelectric figure of merit, zT, one of the key points is to decouple the carrier-phonon transport. Here, we propose an entropy engineering strategy to realize the carrier-phonon decoupling in the typical SrTiO-based perovskite thermoelectrics.

Voltage control of multiferroic magnon torque for reconfigurable logic-in-memory.

Magnons, bosonic quasiparticles carrying angular momentum, can flow through insulators for information transmission with minimal power dissipation. However, it remains challenging to develop a magnon-based logic due to the lack of efficient electrical manipulation of magnon transport. Here we show the electric excitation and control of multiferroic magnon modes in a spin-source/multiferroic/ferromagnet structure.

High-Entropy Design for 2D Halide Perovskite.

Hybrid halide perovskites are good candidates for a range of functional materials such as optical electronic and photovoltaic devices due to their tunable band gaps, long carrier diffusion lengths, and solution processability. However, the instability in moisture/air, the toxicity of lead, and rigorous reaction setup or complex postprocessing have long been the bottlenecks for practical application. Herein, we present a simultaneous configurational entropy design at A-sites, B-sites, and X-sites in the typical (CHA)PbBr two-dimensional (2D) hybrid perovskite.

Balancing Polarization and Breakdown for High Capacitive Energy Storage by Microstructure Design.

The compromise of contradictive parameters, polarization, and breakdown strength, is necessary to achieve a high energy storage performance. The two can be tuned, regardless of material types, by controlling microstructures: amorphous states possess higher breakdown strength, while crystalline states have larger polarization. However, how to achieve a balance of amorphous and crystalline phases requires systematic and quantitative investigations.

Ultrahigh energy storage in high-entropy ceramic capacitors with polymorphic relaxor phase.

Ultrahigh-power-density multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) are critical components in electrical and electronic systems. However, the realization of a high energy density combined with a high efficiency is a major challenge for practical applications. We propose a high-entropy design in barium titanate (BaTiO)-based lead-free MLCCs with polymorphic relaxor phase.

Boosting Thermoelectric Performance via Weakening Carrier-Phonon Coupling in BiCuSeO-Graphene Composites.

BiCuSeO is a promising oxygen-containing thermoelectric material due to its intrinsically low lattice thermal conductivity and excellent service stability. However, the low electrical conductivity limits its thermoelectric performance. Aliovalent element doping can significantly improve their carrier concentration, but it may also impact carrier mobility and thermal transport properties.

Electric-Field Control of Perpendicularly Magnetized Ferrimagnetic Order and Giant Magnetoresistance in Multiferroic Heterostructures.

Electrical control of magnetism is highly desirable for energy-efficient spintronic applications. Realizing electric-field-driven perpendicular magnetization switching has been a long-standing goal, which, however, remains a major challenge. Here, electric-field control of perpendicularly magnetized ferrimagnetic order via strain-mediated magnetoelectric coupling is reported.

Field-free spin-orbit switching of perpendicular magnetization enabled by dislocation-induced in-plane symmetry breaking.

Current induced spin-orbit torque (SOT) holds great promise for next generation magnetic-memory technology. Field-free SOT switching of perpendicular magnetization requires the breaking of in-plane symmetry, which can be artificially introduced by external magnetic field, exchange coupling or device asymmetry. Recently it has been shown that the exploitation of inherent crystal symmetry offers a simple and potentially efficient route towards field-free switching.

Compositing effects for high thermoelectric performance of CuSe-based materials.

Thermoelectric materials can realize direct conversion between heat and electricity, showing excellent potential for waste heat recovery. CuSe is a typical superionic conductor thermoelectric material having extraordinary ZT values, but its superionic feature causes poor service stability and low mobility. Here, we reported a fast preparation method of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis to realize in situ compositing of BiCuSeO and CuSe to optimize the service stability.

Robust, Flexible Thermoelectric Film for Energy Harvesting by a Simple and Eco-Friendly Method.

As for the self-supporting composite films, it is significant to develop a structural design that allows for excellent flexibility while reducing the negative effect on thermoelectric (TE) properties. Herein, a robust, flexible TE film was fabricated by in situ chemical transformation and vacuum-assisted filtration without any organic solvents involved. The performance of the films was further optimized by adjusting the Ag/Te ratio and post-treatment methods.

Significant Unconventional Anomalous Hall Effect in Heavy Metal/Antiferromagnetic Insulator Heterostructures.

The anomalous Hall effect (AHE) is a quantum coherent transport phenomenon that conventionally vanishes at elevated temperatures because of thermal dephasing. Therefore, it is puzzling that the AHE can survive in heavy metal (HM)/antiferromagnetic (AFM) insulator (AFMI) heterostructures at high temperatures yet disappears at low temperatures. In this paper, an unconventional high-temperature AHE in HM/AFMI is observed only around the Néel temperature of AFM, with large anomalous Hall resistivity up to 40 nΩ cm is reported.

Excellent Energy Storage Properties Achieved in Sodium Niobate-Based Relaxor Ceramics through Doping Tantalum.

Lead-free relaxor ferroelectric ceramics are potential for energy storage applications due to their comprehensive energy storage properties. However, the energy efficiency of many relaxor ceramics is not high enough, leading to high Joule heat during the charge-discharge cycles, thus lowering their energy storage performance. In this work, tantalum (Ta) dopants were introduced into sodium niobate-based relaxor ceramics to improve the resistivity and energy efficiency.