Andrew Boothroyd

Abstract:

Metals cannot exhibit ferroelectricity because static internal electric fields are screened by conduction electrons, but in 1965, Anderson and Blount predicted the possibility of a ferroelectric metal, in which a ferroelectric-like structural transition occurs in the metallic state. Up to now, no clear example of such a material has been identified. Here we report on a centrosymmetric () to non-centrosymmetric (R3c) transition in metallic LiOsO 3 that is structurally equivalent to the ferroelectric transition of LiNbO 3 (ref.). The transition involves a continuous shift in the mean position of Li + ions on cooling below 140 K. Its discovery realizes the scenario described in ref., and establishes a new class of materials whose properties may differ from those of normal metals. © 2013 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.