Synthesis and Characterization of Ferroelectrics

Dear colleagues,

Ferroelectrics have been one of the most used and studied materials in both scientific and industrial communities. In addition to their foremost property (ferroelectricity), these materials also display other numerous attractive utility properties, such as piezoelectricity, piroelectricity, and electro-optics, which designate them as multifunctional materials particularly suitable for a wide range of applications ranging from effective sensors, actuators, and transducers to optical and memory devices. Since the discovery of ferroelectricity in Rochelle Salt in 1920 by J. Valasek, numerous applications using such effects have been developed. In addition, ferroelectrics and other ferroics exhibit a highly non-linear response, which is changeable rather then fixed, and thus are able to mimic to a large extent biological systems. This is why this kind of behavior is qualified as “smartness” and their respective systems are termed as “smart materials”.

All of the above features are strongly related to the material structure. This particularly applies to relaxor ferroelectrics, which are known as intrinsically inhomogeneous at various length scales with the frustration of local polarization. This characteristic limits the achievement of long-range ferroelectric order at a global scale. This accounts for the variety of mesoscale structures and the tendency for the specific pattern formation responsible for the particular properties of relaxors.

Recently high-performance lead-free piezoelectric ceramics have attracted much attention from the research community. This is due to the European Union’s (EU) legislation on hazardous substances in electronic components. At present, the vast majority of piezoelectric devices are based on solid solutions of lead-containing oxides. Thus, effective lead-free alternatives constitute a subject of increasing interest both in basic and applied research investigations.

The purpose of this collection is to present an up-to-date view of ferroelectric multifunctional and smart materials, which are considered to be among the future's most important materials. This Special Issue of Crystals aims to explore all aspects of crystal structure, crystal growth, ceramic technology, and characterization techniques of ferroelectric materials. Your contributions to the above issue are warmly welcome

Prof. Jan Dec
Guest Editor

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