FLAME-inars
Our Speakers

4th November 2021 – Talk 15:

Antiferroelectric Perovskites

Prof. Dr. Philippe Ghosez Theoretical Materials Physics Division Director of the Research Unit CESAM University of Liège, Belgium

Abstract

Antiferroelectric perovskites are experiencing nowadays a renewed interest, related to their potential usefulness for energy storage applications. Unfortunately, not so many perovskites are antiferroelectric and, amazingly, the definition of antiferroelectricity itself is still sometimes source of confusion and misunderstanding. In this talk, I will first briefly rediscuss the definition of antiferroelectricity and its evolution over the decades. I will then focus on selected recent advances in the field of antiferroelectric perovskites, taking PbZrO3 as a prototypical example. I will report some recent first-principles results suggesting that WO3 and Bi2W2O9 could be antiferroelectric and conclude pointing out some questions and challenges.

Philippe GHOSEZ is Full Professor at the Université de Liège and Head of the group of Theoretical Materials Physics. After graduating as an Engineer in Applied Physics (Université Catholique de Louvain, 1992) he received a PhD for a thesis entilted “First-Principles Study of the Dielectric and Dynamical Properties of Barium Titanate” and co-supervised by Prof. Xavier Gonze and Prof. Jean-Pierre Michenaud (Université Catholique de Louvain, 1997). He was then postdoctoral research associate at Yale University in the group of Prof. Karin M. Rabe in 1998-1999. End of 1999, he became Professor at the Université de Liège where he created the group of Theoretical Materials Physics. He is active in the first-principles theory and modelling of functional materials and nanostructures since more than 25 years, combining theoretical developments and material applications, mainly on oxide perovskites. He has co-authored about 150 articles in international journals totalizing about 20.000 citations, 1 patent and delivered more than 130 invited talks at international conferences and in foreign research institutions.

Philippe GHOSEZ is presently Director of the Research Unit CESAM (125 researchers) at the University of Liège. He is also the General Secretary of the European Multifunctional Materials Institute (EMMI, www.emmi-materials.eu) since 2008 and member of the advisory board of the international ABINIT software project (www.abinit.org) since 2002. He was invited Professor at the EPFL (2002), University of Bordeaux (2004) and University of Geneva (2010). He had the honorific title of Francqui Research Professor (2011-2014). He was laureate of the Prize “La Recherche“ from La Recherche Magazine (Paris, 2008) and of the Prize ”Adolphe Wetrems " from the Belgian Academia of Sciences (Brussels, 2015). He is Fellow of the American Physical Society (Boston, 2018).