Role of polarization evolution in the hysteresis effect of Pb-based antiferroelecrtics

The electric field-induced irreversible domain wall motion results in a ferroelectric(FE) hysteresis. In antiferroelectrics(AFEs), the irreversible phase transition is the main reason for the hysteresis effects, which plays an important role in energy storage performance. Compared to the well-demonstrated FE hysteresis,the structural mechanism of the hysteresis in AFE is not well understood. In this work, the underlying correlation between structure and the hysteresis effect is unveiled in Pb(Zr,Sn,Ti)O_(3) AFE system by using in-situ electrical biasing synchrotron X-ray diffraction. It is found that the AFE with a canting dipole configuration, which shows a continuous polarization rotation under the electric field, tends to have a small hysteresis effect. It presents a negligible phase transition, a small axis ratio, and electric field-induced lattice changing, small domain switching. All these features together lead to a slim hysteresis loop and a high energy storage efficiency. These results offer a deep insight into the structure-hysteresis relationship of AFEs and are helpful for the design of energy storage material.