Developing new antiferroelectric and ferroelectric oxides and chalcogenides within the A2BX3 family

Abstract Here, we employ first-principles methods to expand the set of functional materials known as ferroelectrics and antiferroelectrics. We use known compounds, whose properties have previously been overlooked, as the springboard for new materials. We first develop methodology to search for polar instabilities in known nonpolar and antipolar compounds and then use this technique to identify new members of the A₂BX₃ family. This methodology identities new Pb-free oxides and chalcogenides, with a wide range of band gaps, to be used as solid-state photovoltaics. Finally, we perform a cursory evaluation of how compositional tuning of oxide materials can adjust the difference in energy between ground and metastable states, to assess the likelihood of polarization switching. In total, we report on a targeted sets of new materials to synthesize and design routes to obtain ferroelectrics and antiferroelectrics with energetic barriers amenable to switching with an electric field. Graphic abstract