Room temperature electrocaloric effect in PTO/STO superlattice induced by topological domain transition

Xu Hou, Chengwen Bin, Sizheng Zheng, Zhenguang Gao, Pan Chen, Jie Wang (Corresponding Author), Xu Sheng Yang (Corresponding Author)

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Environmentally friendly and highly efficient solid-state refrigeration devices based on electrocaloric effect (ECE) are promising substitutes for traditional vapor compression refrigeration. Ferroelectric materials with large polarization usually possess a significant adiabatic temperature change (ATC) near their first-order phase transition point. However, the narrow range of ATC around the high transition temperature unfortunately hinders their application as ECE coolers. As domain transition has been demonstrated as a powerful tool for tailoring the location and value of ATC, the versatile polar topologies discovered in the PbTiO3/SrTiO3 (PTO/STO) ferroelectric superlattice offer a fruitful playground for creating domain transition-induced ECE. In this study, phase field simulation is employed to investigate the topological domain transitions and accompaning ECE response in the PTO/STO superlattice. By precisely designing the gradient layer thickness of STO, we acheive large ECEs with a peak value of ∼6 K and a wide temperature span near room temperature under a moderate electric field of ∼39 MV/m. With the increase of temperature, continuous topological domain transitions are observed in the superlattice system, starting from vertical c domain and transiting to a/c domain, followed by the formation of vortex-antivortex pairs, and finally transforming to horizontal a domain, which results in the above-mentioned room temperature ECE. The value of the ATC and temperature range of the large ECE response can be successfully adjusted by changing the STO occupation ratio in the PTO/STO superlattice. Our study sheds considerable insight into the topological domain transitions and offers guidance in engineering ferroelectric superlattice to achieve large ECE near room temperature.

Original languageEnglish
Article number120152
Number of pages15
JournalActa Materialia
Volume277
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Sept 2024

Keywords

  • Electrocaloric effect
  • Phase field simulation
  • PTO/STO superlattice
  • Topological domain transition

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Ceramics and Composites
  • Polymers and Plastics
  • Metals and Alloys

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