Recently, a research team led by Prof. Li Xiaoguang from the University of Science and Technology of China, in collaboration with the Li Jianqi Research Group at the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has developed and synthesized a novel single-crystal nanoribbon material that exhibits multiferroic properties at room temperature. The findings were recently published in Scientific Reports, a journal under the Nature Publishing Group.
Multiferroic materials are unique in that they possess both ferroelectric and (anti)ferromagnetic orderings. Their ability to couple electric and magnetic properties makes them highly promising for next-generation technologies such as advanced magnetoelectric sensors, non-volatile memory storage, and low-power electronic devices. By leveraging the coexistence, competition, and interaction of different ordering states in quantum materials, researchers are exploring new ways to control electromagnetic behavior—offering a fresh approach beyond traditional semiconductor-based electronics. This could be a key direction for future electronic development in the post-Moore’s Law era.
In their effort to discover new multiferroic materials, Dr. Dong Xining from Prof. Li Xiaoguang’s group worked closely with the Jianzhi Institute of Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Together, they designed and synthesized a Bi4.2K0.8Fe2O9+δ single-crystal nanoribbon that shows multiferroic characteristics at room temperature. This material is structurally similar to the high-temperature superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ, but it possesses a distinct architecture compared to conventional multiferroics. The crystal structure features alternating layers along the c-axis: perovskite-like layers and insulating salt-like layers resembling barium ferrite. This natural arrangement forms a built-in magnetoelectric-dielectric superlattice, resulting in a strong magnetoelectric coupling effect at room temperature. Such a novel design could pave the way for the development of micro-scale magnetic devices and more efficient data storage solutions.
The study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Ministry of Science and Technology, highlighting the importance of this breakthrough in the field of functional materials and quantum electronics.
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