Cluster sliding ferroelectricity in trilayer Quasi-Hexagonal C60
Abstract Electric polarization typically originates from non-centrosymmetric charge distributions in compounds. In elemental crystalline materials, chemical bonds between atoms of the same element favor symmetrically distributed electron charges and centrosymmetric structures, making elemental ferro...
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| Format: | Article |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | npj Computational Materials |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41524-024-01511-3 |
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| author | Xuefei Wang Yanhan Ren Shi Qiu Fan Zhang Xueao Li Junfeng Gao Weiwei Gao Jijun Zhao |
| author_facet | Xuefei Wang Yanhan Ren Shi Qiu Fan Zhang Xueao Li Junfeng Gao Weiwei Gao Jijun Zhao |
| author_sort | Xuefei Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Electric polarization typically originates from non-centrosymmetric charge distributions in compounds. In elemental crystalline materials, chemical bonds between atoms of the same element favor symmetrically distributed electron charges and centrosymmetric structures, making elemental ferroelectrics rare. Compared to atoms, elemental clusters are intrinsically less symmetric and can have various preferred orientations when they are assembled to form crystals. Consequently, the assembly of clusters with different orientations tends to break the inversion symmetry. By exploiting this concept, we show that sliding ferroelectricity naturally emerges in trilayer quasi-hexagonal phase (qHP) C60, a cluster-assembled carbon allotrope recently synthesized. Compared to many metallic or semi-metallic elemental ferroelectrics, trilayer qHP C60’s have sizable band gaps and several ferroelectric structures, which are distinguishable by measuring their second-harmonic generation (SHG) responses. Some of these phases show both switchable out-of-plane and in-plane polarizations on the order of 0.2 pC/m. The out-of-plane and in-plane polarizations can be switched independently and enable an easy-to-implement construction of Van der Waals homostructures with ferroelectrically switchable chirality. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-bc05cfa53750447385045232deac82d4 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2057-3960 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | npj Computational Materials |
| spelling | doaj-art-bc05cfa53750447385045232deac82d42025-08-20T02:36:41ZengNature Portfolionpj Computational Materials2057-39602025-01-011111710.1038/s41524-024-01511-3Cluster sliding ferroelectricity in trilayer Quasi-Hexagonal C60Xuefei Wang0Yanhan Ren1Shi Qiu2Fan Zhang3Xueao Li4Junfeng Gao5Weiwei Gao6Jijun Zhao7Key Laboratory of Material Modification by Laser, Ion and Electron Beams (Dalian University of Technology), Ministry of EducationKey Laboratory of Material Modification by Laser, Ion and Electron Beams (Dalian University of Technology), Ministry of EducationKey Laboratory of Material Modification by Laser, Ion and Electron Beams (Dalian University of Technology), Ministry of EducationKey Laboratory of Material Modification by Laser, Ion and Electron Beams (Dalian University of Technology), Ministry of EducationKey Laboratory of Material Modification by Laser, Ion and Electron Beams (Dalian University of Technology), Ministry of EducationKey Laboratory of Material Modification by Laser, Ion and Electron Beams (Dalian University of Technology), Ministry of EducationKey Laboratory of Material Modification by Laser, Ion and Electron Beams (Dalian University of Technology), Ministry of EducationGuangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Structure and Fundamental Interactions of Matter, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, School of Physics, South China Normal UniversityAbstract Electric polarization typically originates from non-centrosymmetric charge distributions in compounds. In elemental crystalline materials, chemical bonds between atoms of the same element favor symmetrically distributed electron charges and centrosymmetric structures, making elemental ferroelectrics rare. Compared to atoms, elemental clusters are intrinsically less symmetric and can have various preferred orientations when they are assembled to form crystals. Consequently, the assembly of clusters with different orientations tends to break the inversion symmetry. By exploiting this concept, we show that sliding ferroelectricity naturally emerges in trilayer quasi-hexagonal phase (qHP) C60, a cluster-assembled carbon allotrope recently synthesized. Compared to many metallic or semi-metallic elemental ferroelectrics, trilayer qHP C60’s have sizable band gaps and several ferroelectric structures, which are distinguishable by measuring their second-harmonic generation (SHG) responses. Some of these phases show both switchable out-of-plane and in-plane polarizations on the order of 0.2 pC/m. The out-of-plane and in-plane polarizations can be switched independently and enable an easy-to-implement construction of Van der Waals homostructures with ferroelectrically switchable chirality.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41524-024-01511-3 |
| spellingShingle | Xuefei Wang Yanhan Ren Shi Qiu Fan Zhang Xueao Li Junfeng Gao Weiwei Gao Jijun Zhao Cluster sliding ferroelectricity in trilayer Quasi-Hexagonal C60 npj Computational Materials |
| title | Cluster sliding ferroelectricity in trilayer Quasi-Hexagonal C60 |
| title_full | Cluster sliding ferroelectricity in trilayer Quasi-Hexagonal C60 |
| title_fullStr | Cluster sliding ferroelectricity in trilayer Quasi-Hexagonal C60 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cluster sliding ferroelectricity in trilayer Quasi-Hexagonal C60 |
| title_short | Cluster sliding ferroelectricity in trilayer Quasi-Hexagonal C60 |
| title_sort | cluster sliding ferroelectricity in trilayer quasi hexagonal c60 |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41524-024-01511-3 |
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