Size effects in ferroelectric nanocones

Abstract

Ferroelectric size effects in cone-shaped nanoparticles (nanocones) are investigated for the first time. The Euler-Lagrange equations are solved using the direct variational technique. An approximate analytical expression is derived for the dependence of the ferroelectric phase transition temperature on the nanocone size. It is shown that the transition temperature for nanocones can be 2.5 times higher than the transition temperature for bulk materials.