Enhanced energy-storage performances of (1-x)PbZrO3-xPbSnO3 antiferroelectric thin films under low electric fields

Highlights: • Effect of PSO content was studied in microstructures, electrical performances. • Polyphase components including tetragonal and orthorhombic phase were generated in the thin films. • The energy storage density and efficiency of PZO films were increased at low electric fields. -- Abstract: In this work, (1-x)PbZrO₃-xPbSnO₃ (PZO-PSO) antiferroelectric thin films were prepared on Pt(111)/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates by a sol-gel method in order to improve energy-storage performances under low electric fields, and the effects of PSO content on microstructures, electrical performances and energy storage behaviors of the thin films were studied in-detail. The results showed that doping PSO in PZO thin films can reduce the stability of antiferroelectric phase, thus ferroelectric polarization of the thin films can reach a lager value at low electric fields. Meanwhile, polyphase components including tetragonal and orthorhombic phase were generated in the PZO-PSO thin films, leading to diffusive phase transition from antiferroelectric to ferroelectric phase under the electric field. Hence, the energy storage behaviors of the PZO-PSO thin films under low electric field were improved significantly. When PSO content was x = 0.48, its energy storage density and efficiency reached the maximum values of 6.11 J/cm³ and 72% at 333 kV/cm, which was 68.26% and 10% higher than pure PZO thin films, respectively. Our results will lay a solid foundation for developing energy-storing antiferroelectric thin films for the application of dielectric capacitors at low electric fields.