Ferroelectricity in Bi4Ti3O12 nanorods

Here we report on the piezoelectric and ferroelectric properties of individual one-dimensional objects made of Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ (BiT). The nanorods and nanowires investigated in this study were fabricated by a two-step process: (1) preparation of reactive templates using hydrothermal-like synthesis and colloidal chemistry and (2) transformation of the reactive templates in Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ by solid-state reaction at 600-700°C, overcoming the morphological instability problem of 1D templates. Piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) with both out-of-plane and in-plane detection capability showed that both types of objects exhibit a strong piezoelectric activity and a good switching ferroelectric behavior.