Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 29, 2026

Methods of Ex Situ and In Situ Investigations of Structural Transformations: The Case of Crystallization of Metallic Glasses
Published on: June 7, 2018
First-principles investigation of morphotropic transitions and phase-change functional responses in BiFeO3-BiCoO3
Oswaldo Diéguez1, Jorge Íñiguez
1Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC), Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.
Abstract:
We present an ab initio study of the BFCO solid solution formed by multiferroics BiFeO(3) (BFO) and BiFeO(3) (BCO). We find that BFCO presents a strongly discontinuous morphotropic transition between BFO-like and BCO-like ferroelectric phases. Further, for all compositions such phases remain (meta)stable and retain well-differentiated properties. Our results thus suggest that an electric field can be used to switch between these structures and show that such a switching involves large phase-change effects of various types, including piezoelectric, electric, and magnetoelectric ones.
Related Concept Videos
Solid–Solid Solutions
Phase Diagrams of Ternary Systems
Phase Transitions
Phase Transitions
Phase Diagram
Phase Diagram

