High- TC Two-Dimensional Ferroelectric CuCrS2 Grown via Chemical Vapor Deposition

ACS Nano. 2022 May 24;16(5):8141-8149. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.2c01470. Epub 2022 Apr 20.

Abstract

Two-dimensional (2D) ferroelectrics have attracted intensive attention. However, the 2D ferroelectrics remain rare, and especially few of them represent high ferroelectric transition temperature (TC), which is important for the usability of ferroelectrics. Herein, CuCrS2 nanoflakes are synthesized by salt-assisted chemical vapor deposition and exhibit switchable ferroelectric polarization even when the thickness is downscaled to 6 nm. On the contrary, a CuCrS2 nanoflake shows a TC as high as ∼700 K, which can be attributed to the robust tetrahedral bonding configurations of Cu cations. Such robustness can be further clarified by a theoretically predicted high order-disorder transition barrier and structure evolution from 600 to 800 K. Additionally, the interlocked out-of-plane (OOP) and in-plane (IP) ferroelectric domains are observed and two kinds of devices based on OOP and IP polarizations are demonstrated.

Keywords: 2D materials; CuCrS2; chemical vapor deposition; ferroelectricity; high TC.