During their experiment, the scientists from Saint-Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU), working with French, Polish and Swiss teams, examined the influence of a simultaneous change of temperature and pressure on the material’s properties and found what is called an incommensurate phase – a phenomenon which rarely occurs in crystal structures.
In their experiments, diffuse scattering of x-rays showed the crystal structure of lead zirconate at high pressure and temperature was not as expected – the incommensurate phase.“We identified the incommensurate phase in substitution free antiferroelectric for the first time,” said SPbPU researcher Dr Roman Burkovsky.
Antiferroelectrics are said to be difficult to describe theoretically, but lead zirconate is seen as a model for further studies and its properties could be used to describe those of a broader range of materials. Understanding these behaviours, said the team, will allow the development of functional materials targeted at particular applications.
Switching between the crystal phases of different structures is predicted to release ‘significant energy’ in short periods. The lack of electrolytes, the team added, will have advantages in terms of integration and miniaturisation.
