Engineering of atomic-scale flexoelectricity at grain boundaries.

ABSTRACT: Flexoelectricity is a type of ubiquitous and prominent electromechanical coupling, pertaining to the electrical polarization response to mechanical strain gradients that is not restricted by the symmetry of materials. However, large elastic deformation is usually difficult to achieve in most solids, and the strain gradient at minuscule is challenging to control. Here, we exploit the exotic structural inhomogeneity of grain boundary to achieve a huge strain gradient (~1.2 nm^-1) within 3-4-unit cells, and thus obtain atomic-scale flexoelectric polarization of up to ~38 μC cm^-2 at a 24° LaAlO₃ grain boundary. Accompanied by the generation of the nanoscale flexoelectricity, the electronic structures of grain boundaries also become different. Hence, the flexoele

SUBMITTER: Wu M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8752668 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature