Rondinelli Collaborates on Publication of Synthesis and Characterization Studies in Advanced Materials

Dr. James Rondinelli

Professor James Rondinelli has collaborated with researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, to published synthesis and characterization studies which describe how to stabilize new phases in ferroelectric materials by heteroepitaxial engineering in Advanced Materials. The article titled, “Interplay of Octahedral Tilts and Polar Order in BiFeO3 Films,” demonstrates that a distinct nonpolar BiFeO3 phase emerges simultaneously with changes in octahedral tilts at an oxide–oxide interface. Remarkably, the phase is metastable and can be switched into a polar ferroelectric state under an applied electric bias. The work offers new insight for the rational design of ferroic phases in materials for use in low-power electronics.