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Realization of Large Electric Polarization and Strong Magnetoelectric Coupling in BiMn 3 Cr 4 O 12
Author(s) -
Zhou Long,
Dai Jianhong,
Chai Yisheng,
Zhang Huimin,
Dong Shuai,
Cao Huibo,
Calder Stuart,
Yin Yunyu,
Wang Xiao,
Shen Xudong,
Liu Zhehong,
Saito Takashi,
Shimakawa Yuichi,
Hojo Hajime,
Ikuhara Yuichi,
Azuma Masaki,
Hu Zhiwei,
Sun Young,
Jin Changqing,
Long Youwen
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.201703435
Subject(s) - multiferroics , ferroelectricity , materials science , antiferromagnetism , polarization density , condensed matter physics , magnetoelectric effect , polarization (electrochemistry) , spins , phase transition , pyroelectricity , dielectric , physics , optoelectronics , magnetization , magnetic field , quantum mechanics , chemistry
Abstract Magnetoelectric multiferroics have received much attention in the past decade due to their interesting physics and promising multifunctional performance. For practical applications, simultaneous large ferroelectric polarization and strong magnetoelectric coupling are preferred. However, these two properties have not been found to be compatible in the single‐phase multiferroic materials discovered as yet. Here, it is shown that superior multiferroic properties exist in the A‐site ordered perovskite BiMn 3 Cr 4 O 12 synthesized under high‐pressure and high‐temperature conditions. The compound experiences a ferroelectric phase transition ascribed to the 6s 2 lone‐pair effects of Bi 3+ at around 135 K, and a long‐range antiferromagnetic order related to the Cr 3+ spins around 125 K, leading to the presence of a type‐I multiferroic phase with huge electric polarization. On further cooling to 48 K, a type‐II multiferroic phase induced by the special spin structure composed of both Mn‐ and Cr‐sublattices emerges, accompanied by considerable magnetoelectric coupling. BiMn 3 Cr 4 O 12 thus provides a rare example of joint multiferroicity, where two different types of multiferroic phases develop subsequently so that both large polarization and significant magnetoelectric effect are achieved in a single‐phase multiferroic material.