Trapping a Metastable Ferroelectric Phase by Size Reduction in Semiconducting Ferroelectric BiFeO3-PbTiO3 and Its Implications for Photocatalytic Response

Narayan, Bastola and Adhikari, Sangeeta and Madras, Giridhar and Ranjan, Rajeev (2017) Trapping a Metastable Ferroelectric Phase by Size Reduction in Semiconducting Ferroelectric BiFeO3-PbTiO3 and Its Implications for Photocatalytic Response. In: PHYSICAL REVIEW APPLIED, 7 (2).

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Abstract

We showthat the large elastostatic and electrostatic energies associated with the supertetragonal spontaneous strain and polarization of a semiconducting ferroelectric (1-x)BiFeO3-(x)PbTiO3 forces the ground state to switch to the rhombohedral (R) ferroelectric phase on reduction of crystallite size. The continuity of the pinned tetragonal domain walls, however, prevents a direct tetragonal-to-rhombohedral transformation as the size is gradually reduced by physical means at room temperature. The trapped metastable tetragonal phase in the small crystallites is found to show significantly enhanced photocatalytic activity as compared to its stable tetragonal-or rhombohedral-phase counterparts. Our study suggests that the size effect in multidomain ferroelectrics can be exploited as an effective strategy for the manipulation of functional properties.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	PHYSICAL REVIEW APPLIED
Publisher:	AMER PHYSICAL SOC, ONE PHYSICS ELLIPSE, COLLEGE PK, MD 20740-3844 USA
Additional Information:	Copy right for this article belongs to the AMER PHYSICAL SOC, ONE PHYSICS ELLIPSE, COLLEGE PK, MD 20740-3844 USA
Department/Centre:	Division of Mechanical Sciences > Chemical Engineering Division of Mechanical Sciences > Materials Engineering (formerly Metallurgy)
Date Deposited:	21 Mar 2017 09:20
Last Modified:	21 Mar 2017 09:20
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/56402

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