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Dislocation-Enhanced Pyroelectricity in Barium Titanate
Hanyu Gong1, Yan Zhang1, Edoardo Zatterin2
1State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
|December 30, 2025
Summary
Mechanical doping using dislocations significantly enhances pyroelectric materials for thermal sensing and energy harvesting. This novel approach amplifies domain wall motion, boosting the pyroelectric coefficient by 38-fold.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Solid State Physics
Background:
- Pyroelectric materials are crucial for thermal sensing and energy harvesting, with the pyroelectric coefficient as a key metric.
- While lattice defects enhance pyroelectric properties, the role of mobile ferroelectric domain walls is underexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate dislocation-based mechanical doping for enhancing pyroelectric response in barium titanate (BaTiO3) single crystals.
- To explore the extrinsic contributions of domain wall motion to pyroelectricity.
Main Methods:
- High-temperature plastic deformation to create anisotropic dislocation networks.
- Synchrotron scanning X-ray diffraction microscopy and transmission electron microscopy for structural analysis.
- Multiscale phase-field simulations to understand the underlying mechanisms.
Main Results:
- Anisotropic dislocation networks induce localized stress and thermal effects, amplifying domain wall motion.
- Dislocation-domain wall coupling enhances polarization's temperature sensitivity and accelerates domain switching.
- Achieved a maximum pyroelectric coefficient exceeding 600 nC cm⁻² K⁻¹, a 38-fold increase.
Conclusions:
- Dislocation engineering offers a new pathway for domain-wall-mediated enhancement of pyroelectric functionality.
- This strategy significantly boosts pyroelectric performance, opening avenues for advanced thermal devices.
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