Effect of Sn4+ doping on antiferroelectric and energy storage properties of PbHfO3 thin films prepared by a sol-gel process

Abstract

Antiferroelectric materials possess excellent energy storage capacity, fatigue resistance, and high thermal stability. This study successfully prepared PbHf1-xSnxO3 (x = 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, 2.0%, abbreviated as PHS-100x) antiferroelectric thin films on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO)/glass substrates using the sol-gel method. The polarization-electric field hysteresis (P–E) loops were utilized to reflect the AFE characteristics. These findings demonstrate that the PHS-1.0 thin film exhibited exceptional energy storage performance with a recoverable energy storage density (Wrec) of 30.91 J/cm3 and an energy storage efficiency (η) of 75.8% at room temperature (RT) and an electric field of 1670 kV/cm. P–E loops tests (30–130 °C) indicated that the PHS-1.0 film possessed good temperature stability. Additionally, the PHS-1.0 film displayed outstanding fatigue resistance under 880 kV/cm, with a minor decrease in Wrec from 23.93 to 20.20 J/cm3 and in η from 72.93 to 71.21% after 108 cycles of testing. These results suggest that PHS-100x films hold great potential for use in pulsed power systems.