tuning between ground states and instabilities in layered perovskite-related materials
Lead Research Organisation:
Durham University
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
Ferroelectrics, with macroscopic and switchable polarisation, and antiferroelectrics (with polar, ferroelectric state a little higher in energy than the non-polar ground state) are important for a wide range of applications. The origins of their polar or anti-polar behaviour include both electronic and geometric factors and can be described by both proper and improper mechanisms.
Several families of layered perovskite-related materials have the potential to adopt polar structures by either proper or improper (specifically hybrid-improper) mechanisms and our project explores switching between these mechanisms to design new ferroelectric materials. The energy landscape for several known hybrid-improper ferroelectrics is more shallow than for related proper ferroelectrics and so we will investigate tuning between polar and anti-polar ground states in these hybrid-improper systems to design new antiferroelectrics.
The project involves synthesis of layered perovskite-related materials and their structural characterisation by a range of techniques (including X-ray, neutron and electron diffraction and using Rietveld refinement). Physical property measurements will be carried out to understand structure - composition - property relationships in these systems. Experimental work will be complemented by computational studies to gain further insight into the balance between mechanisms that stabilise the ground states.
Several families of layered perovskite-related materials have the potential to adopt polar structures by either proper or improper (specifically hybrid-improper) mechanisms and our project explores switching between these mechanisms to design new ferroelectric materials. The energy landscape for several known hybrid-improper ferroelectrics is more shallow than for related proper ferroelectrics and so we will investigate tuning between polar and anti-polar ground states in these hybrid-improper systems to design new antiferroelectrics.
The project involves synthesis of layered perovskite-related materials and their structural characterisation by a range of techniques (including X-ray, neutron and electron diffraction and using Rietveld refinement). Physical property measurements will be carried out to understand structure - composition - property relationships in these systems. Experimental work will be complemented by computational studies to gain further insight into the balance between mechanisms that stabilise the ground states.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
Emma McCabe (Primary Supervisor) | |
Areesha Ali (Student) |
Studentship Projects
Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
EP/T518001/1 | 01/10/2020 | 30/09/2025 | |||
2569785 | Studentship | EP/T518001/1 | 01/10/2021 | 31/03/2025 | Areesha Ali |