2025/04/23 by Guoqiang Xi, Yue‐Wen Fang, Dongxing Zheng +17 · 1 voice · 1 citation
Materials Science · #Multiferroics and related materials #Ferroelectric and Piezoelectric Materials #Magnetic and transport properties of perovskites and related materials
paper · doi:10.1038/s41467-025-58594-9
openalex publication_date 2025/04/23 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
Magnetic ordering of perovskite ferroelectric oxides is crucial for enhancing their stability and minimizing energy losses in magnetoelectric devices. However, inducing a transition from a magnetically disordered state to an ordered one remains a formidable challenge. Here, we propose a chemical sulfurization method that significantly enhances the magnetic ordering of multiferroic super-tetragonal phase BiFeO3 thin film. The out-of-plane and in-plane magnetization significantly increases after sulfurization, accompanied by a rotation of the magnetic easy axis. X-ray absorption spectroscopy and spherical aberration transmission electron microscopy reveal the reconfiguration of local electronic hybridization states, restructuring Fe–O hybridization from pyramid-like FeO5 to octahedral FeO6 geometries. This transformation is considered the root cause of the observed magnetic transition in the films. This sulfur-induced strategy for electronic hybridization reconfiguration is expected to break new ground, offering innovative methodologies for modulating perovskite oxides, two-dimensional ferroelectric films, and other ferromagnetic functional thin films. The authors present a feasible strategy of anion-induced strain engineering to regulate the lattice structure and properties of super-elongated BiFeO3 epitaxial films, revealing the correlations among lattice distortion, local electronic hybridization, and multiferroic properties.