Flexible high-entropy functional ceramics

Abstract 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 brittl...

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Main Authors: Lvye Dou, Bingbing Yang, Xiaoyuan Ye, Yang Zhang, Wenqing Zhu, Huiling Chen, Yingjie Jiang, Ben Fang, Shun Lan, Qian Li, Yiqian Liu, Penghui Li, Xuan Zhang, Shuchang Li, Yujun Zhang, Wei Xu, Xinyu Zhang, Liang Wu, Xiaoyan Li, Xiaoding Wei, Zhiyang Yu, Ce-Wen Nan, Yuan-Hua Lin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-07-01
Series:Nature Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60548-0
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author Lvye Dou
Bingbing Yang
Xiaoyuan Ye
Yang Zhang
Wenqing Zhu
Huiling Chen
Yingjie Jiang
Ben Fang
Shun Lan
Qian Li
Yiqian Liu
Penghui Li
Xuan Zhang
Shuchang Li
Yujun Zhang
Wei Xu
Xinyu Zhang
Liang Wu
Xiaoyan Li
Xiaoding Wei
Zhiyang Yu
Ce-Wen Nan
Yuan-Hua Lin
author_facet Lvye Dou
Bingbing Yang
Xiaoyuan Ye
Yang Zhang
Wenqing Zhu
Huiling Chen
Yingjie Jiang
Ben Fang
Shun Lan
Qian Li
Yiqian Liu
Penghui Li
Xuan Zhang
Shuchang Li
Yujun Zhang
Wei Xu
Xinyu Zhang
Liang Wu
Xiaoyan Li
Xiaoding Wei
Zhiyang Yu
Ce-Wen Nan
Yuan-Hua Lin
author_sort Lvye Dou
collection DOAJ
description Abstract 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. Here, the challenge is met through a high-entropy strategy, which allows the initial crystallization of randomly dispersed nanocrystals followed by controlled amorphization of high-entropy compositions to attain a crystalline/amorphous microstructure, yielding a Bi4Ti3O12-based film that can withstand ~180° folding with a bending strain and tensile elongation up to 4.80% and 5.29%, respectively. The crystalline/amorphous structure enables the production of a flexible dielectric capacitor with high permittivity (~35), good temperature stability and durability. This strategy offers research prototypes for customizing the microstructures of functional ceramics, advancing next-generation ceramics with flexibility.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2041-1723
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Nature Portfolio
record_format Article
series Nature Communications
spelling doaj-art-409bd3143eb744d2bc665cecb8a64ed72025-08-20T03:37:37ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-07-0116111010.1038/s41467-025-60548-0Flexible high-entropy functional ceramicsLvye Dou0Bingbing Yang1Xiaoyuan Ye2Yang Zhang3Wenqing Zhu4Huiling Chen5Yingjie Jiang6Ben Fang7Shun Lan8Qian Li9Yiqian Liu10Penghui Li11Xuan Zhang12Shuchang Li13Yujun Zhang14Wei Xu15Xinyu Zhang16Liang Wu17Xiaoyan Li18Xiaoding Wei19Zhiyang Yu20Ce-Wen Nan21Yuan-Hua Lin22State Key Laboratory of New Ceramic Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua UniversityState Key Laboratory of New Ceramic Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua UniversityState Key Laboratory of Photocatalysis on Energy and Environment, College of Chemistry, Fuzhou UniversityState Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Quantum Physics and Department of Physics, Tsinghua UniversityState Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex System, Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, College of Engineering, Peking UniversityState Key Laboratory of Photocatalysis on Energy and Environment, College of Chemistry, Fuzhou UniversityState Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex System, Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, College of Engineering, Peking UniversityState Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex System, Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, College of Engineering, Peking UniversityState Key Laboratory of New Ceramic Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua UniversityState Key Laboratory of New Ceramic Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua UniversityState Key Laboratory of New Ceramic Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua UniversityCenter for High Pressure Science, State Key Laboratory of Metastable Materials Science and Technology, Yanshan UniversityDepartment of Advanced Manufacturing and Robotics, College of Engineering, Peking UniversityMechano-X Institute, Applied Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua UniversityBeijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of SciencesFaculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and TechnologyFaculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and TechnologyMechano-X Institute, Applied Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua UniversityState Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex System, Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, College of Engineering, Peking UniversityState Key Laboratory of Photocatalysis on Energy and Environment, College of Chemistry, Fuzhou UniversityState Key Laboratory of New Ceramic Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua UniversityState Key Laboratory of New Ceramic Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua UniversityAbstract 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. Here, the challenge is met through a high-entropy strategy, which allows the initial crystallization of randomly dispersed nanocrystals followed by controlled amorphization of high-entropy compositions to attain a crystalline/amorphous microstructure, yielding a Bi4Ti3O12-based film that can withstand ~180° folding with a bending strain and tensile elongation up to 4.80% and 5.29%, respectively. The crystalline/amorphous structure enables the production of a flexible dielectric capacitor with high permittivity (~35), good temperature stability and durability. This strategy offers research prototypes for customizing the microstructures of functional ceramics, advancing next-generation ceramics with flexibility.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60548-0
spellingShingle Lvye Dou
Bingbing Yang
Xiaoyuan Ye
Yang Zhang
Wenqing Zhu
Huiling Chen
Yingjie Jiang
Ben Fang
Shun Lan
Qian Li
Yiqian Liu
Penghui Li
Xuan Zhang
Shuchang Li
Yujun Zhang
Wei Xu
Xinyu Zhang
Liang Wu
Xiaoyan Li
Xiaoding Wei
Zhiyang Yu
Ce-Wen Nan
Yuan-Hua Lin
Flexible high-entropy functional ceramics
Nature Communications
title Flexible high-entropy functional ceramics
title_full Flexible high-entropy functional ceramics
title_fullStr Flexible high-entropy functional ceramics
title_full_unstemmed Flexible high-entropy functional ceramics
title_short Flexible high-entropy functional ceramics
title_sort flexible high entropy functional ceramics
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60548-0
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