Multifunctional BiFeO3/TiO2 nano-heterostructure: Photo-ferroelectricity, rectifying transport, and nonvolatile resistive switching property

TLDR: In this article, the photogenerated electrons trapped at the domain/grain boundaries tune the ferroelectric polarization in BiFeO3/TiO2 nanostructures and showed that the observed resistive switching is most likely caused by the electric-field-induced carrier injection/migration and trapping/detrapping process at the hetero-interfaces.

Abstract: Multifunctional BiFeO3 nanostructure anchored TiO2 nanotubes are fabricated by coupling wet chemical and electrochemical routes. BiFeO3/TiO2 nano-heterostructure exhibits white-light-induced ferroelectricity at room temperature. Studies reveal that the photogenerated electrons trapped at the domain/grain boundaries tune the ferroelectric polarization in BiFeO3 nanostructures. The photon controlled saturation and remnant polarization opens up the possibility to design ferroelectric devices based on BiFeO3. The nano-heterostructure also exhibits substantial photovoltaic effect and rectifying characteristics. Photovoltaic property is found to be correlated with the ferroelectric polarization. Furthermore, the nonvolatile resistive switching in BiFeO3/TiO2 nano-heterostructure has been studied, which demonstrates that the observed resistive switching is most likely caused by the electric-field-induced carrier injection/migration and trapping/detrapping process at the hetero-interfaces. Therefore, BiFeO3/TiO2 ...