Superlattice Engineering in Relaxor Ferroelectric-based Capacitors for Ultra-Highly Efficient Recoverable Energy Storage Density
Abstract
In this work, we show that superlattice engineering, through the combination of relaxor ferroelectric 0.5Ba(Zr 0.2 Ti 0.8 )O ₃ −0.5(Ba 0.7 Ca 0.3 )TiO ₃ and paraelectric SrTiO ₃ layers, is a powerful approach to simultaneously optimize energy density and efficiency of recoverable energy storage at low applied electric fields, outperforming both single layer 0.5Ba(Zr 0.2 Ti 0.8 )O ₃ −0.5(Ba 0.7 Ca 0.3 )TiO ₃ thin film and other lead-free ferroelectric and relaxor ferroelectric thin film capacitors. The mechanisms responsible are a) decreasing the size of polar nanoregions which promote relaxor behavior by superlattice confinement and b) formation of a strain gradient in the superlattice which plays a significant role in modification of the built-in electric field, to enhance imprint, allowing for further enhancement of the energy storage performance. Overall, our interface-engineered Pb-free 0.5Ba(Zr 0.2 Ti 0.8 )O ₃ −0.5(Ba 0.7 Ca 0.3 )TiO ₃ /SrTiO ₃ superlattices show record dielectric energy storage efficiency close to 99% at 920 kV/cm, with high recoverable energy storage density of 12.6 J/cm ³ , significantly outperforming other lead-free ferroelectric and relaxor ferroelectric thin film capacitors. Our thin film system meets the performance requirements for environmentally friendly energy storage devices for future self-powered electronics.
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BibTeX
@article{oliveira2026superlattice,
title = {{Superlattice Engineering in Relaxor Ferroelectric-based Capacitors for Ultra-Highly Efficient Recoverable Energy Storage Density}},
author = {Matilde M. G. S. Oliveira and Ampattu R. Jayakrishnan and Duarte J. M. Ribeiro and Tiago Rodrigues and Jingye Zou and Surya K. P. Nair and Raluca Negrea and Marian C. Istrate and Manuel J. L. F. Rodrigues and Michael Belsley and Bernardo G. Almeida and Mario Pereira and Judith L. MacManus-Driscoll and Ignasi Fina and Florencio Sánchez and Luís Marques and José P. B. Silva},
journal = {Nature Communications},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-77971-6},
url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-77971-6},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Superlattice Engineering in Relaxor Ferroelectric-based Capacitors for Ultra-Highly Efficient Recoverable Energy Storage Density
AU - Matilde M. G. S. Oliveira
AU - Ampattu R. Jayakrishnan
AU - Duarte J. M. Ribeiro
AU - Tiago Rodrigues
AU - Jingye Zou
AU - Surya K. P. Nair
AU - Raluca Negrea
AU - Marian C. Istrate
AU - Manuel J. L. F. Rodrigues
AU - Michael Belsley
AU - Bernardo G. Almeida
AU - Mario Pereira
AU - Judith L. MacManus-Driscoll
AU - Ignasi Fina
AU - Florencio Sánchez
AU - Luís Marques
AU - José P. B. Silva
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
JO - Nature Communications
DO - 10.1038/s41467-026-77971-6
UR - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-77971-6
AB - In this work, we show that superlattice engineering, through the combination of relaxor ferroelectric 0.5Ba(Zr 0.2 Ti 0.8 )O ₃ −0.5(Ba 0.7 Ca 0.3 )TiO ₃ and paraelectric SrTiO ₃ layers, is a powerful approach to simultaneously optimize energy density and efficiency of recoverable energy storage at low applied electric fields, outperforming both single layer 0.5Ba(Zr 0.2 Ti 0.8 )O ₃ −0.5(Ba 0.7 Ca 0.3 )TiO ₃ thin film and other lead-free ferroelectric and relaxor ferroelectric thin film capacitors. The mechanisms responsible are a) decreasing the size of polar nanoregions which promote relaxor behavior by superlattice confinement and b) formation of a strain gradient in the superlattice which plays a significant role in modification of the built-in electric field, to enhance imprint, allowing for further enhancement of the energy storage performance. Overall, our interface-engineered Pb-free 0.5Ba(Zr 0.2 Ti 0.8 )O ₃ −0.5(Ba 0.7 Ca 0.3 )TiO ₃ /SrTiO ₃ superlattices show record dielectric energy storage efficiency close to 99% at 920 kV/cm, with high recoverable energy storage density of 12.6 J/cm ³ , significantly outperforming other lead-free ferroelectric and relaxor ferroelectric thin film capacitors. Our thin film system meets the performance requirements for environmentally friendly energy storage devices for future self-powered electronics.
SN - 2041-1723
ER -