Nature Communications (Dec 2023)

Unconventional polarization fatigue in van der Waals layered ferroelectric ionic conductor CuInP2S6

  • Ziwen Zhou,
  • Shun Wang,
  • Zhou Zhou,
  • Yiqi Hu,
  • Qiankun Li,
  • Jinshuo Xue,
  • Zhijian Feng,
  • Qingyu Yan,
  • Zhongshen Luo,
  • Yuyan Weng,
  • Rujun Tang,
  • Xiaodong Su,
  • Fengang Zheng,
  • Kazuki Okamoto,
  • Hiroshi Funakubo,
  • Lixing Kang,
  • Liang Fang,
  • Lu You

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-44132-y
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 1
pp. 1 – 10

Abstract

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Abstract Recent progress in two-dimensional ferroelectrics greatly expands the versatility and tunability in van der Waals heterostructure based electronics. However, the switching endurance issue that widely plagues conventional ferroelectrics in practical applications is hitherto unexplored for van der Waals layered ferroelectrics. Herein, we report the observation of unusual polarization fatigue behaviors in van der Waals layered CuInP2S6, which also possesses finite ionic conductivity at room temperature. The strong intertwinement of the short-range polarization switching and long-range ionic movement in conjunction with the van der Waals layered structure gives rise to unique morphological and polarization evolutions under repetitive electric cycles. With the help of concerted chemical, structural, lattice vibrational and dielectric analyses, we unravel the critical role of the synergy of ionic migration and surface oxidation on the anomalous polarization enhancement and the eventual polarization degradation. This work provides a general insight into the polarization fatigue characteristics in ionically-active van der Waals ferroelectrics and delivers potential solutions for the realization of fatigue-free capacitors.