Single-crystalline BiFeO3 nanowires and their ferroelectric behavior

Abstract

We report the ferroelectric properties of single-crystalline BiFeO3 nanowires using piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM). The nanowires, synthesized by a hydrothermal approach, have a rhombohedral perovskite structure and a preferential growth of the (211) crystallographic plane perpendicular to the wire axis, as revealed by x-ray and electron diffraction investigations. PFM measurements reveal that the as-synthesized BiFeO3 nanowires, down to 40 nm in diameter, have components of spontaneous polarization along both the axial and radial directions, thereby demonstrating the ferroelectric nature of the wires. The results indicate that such ferroelectric BiFeO3 nanowires should provide promising opportunity for nanoscale nonvolatile memory devices.