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Intrinsic polarization of ferroelectrics (FE) helps separate photon-generated charge carriers thus enhances photovoltaic effects. However, traditional FE with transition-metal cations (M) of d⁰ electron in MO₆ network typically has a band gap (E(g)) exceeding 3.0 eV. Although a smaller E(g) (2.6 eV) can be obtained in multiferroic BiFeO₃, the value is still too high for optimal solar energy applications. Computational "materials genome" searches have predicted several exotic MO₆ FE with E(g) < 2.0 eV, all thus far unconfirmed because of synthesis difficulties. Here we report a new FE compound with MO₄ tetrahedral network, KBiFe₂O₅, which features narrow E(g) (1.6 eV), high Curie temperature (T(c) ~ 780 K) and robust magnetic and photoelectric activities. The high photovoltage (8.8 V) and photocurrent density (15 μA/cm²) were obtained, which is comparable to the reported BiFeO₃. This finding may open a new avenue to discovering and designing optimal FE compounds for solar energy applications.
Zhang et al. (Tue,) studied this question.