Room-temperature multiferroic properties of single-crystalline FeWO₄ nanowires

FeWO₄ nanowires were prepared by the hydrothermal process, and the room-temperature multiferroic properties of as-prepared FeWO₄ nanowires were investigated. Herein we report on the observation, for the first time, of ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism coexisting in the FeWO₄ nanowires at room temperature. Specifically, the ferroelectricity can be controlled by white light; the relative light-induced change of the saturated polarization is more than 50%. Furthermore, magnetoelectric coupling is also observed in the dark and under light irradiation at 10 K