1D Vertical Ferroelectricity in Functionalized Carbon/Boron Nitride Nanotubes

Abstract

Low‐dimensional ferroelectricity is long sought for post‐Moore nanoscale nonvolatile memory. Although a series of 2D ferroelectrics (FEs) have been experimentally confirmed in recent years, the investigations on 1D FEs are still rare. Stimulated by the experimental synthesis of single‐walled carbon/boron nitride nanotubes endohedrally doped by metal halides, our first‐principles calculations show that they can be the candidates for 1D FEs with switchable polarizations vertical to the tube axis as the inner metal halides form into polar zigzag chains. The polarization can be reversed via the migration of metal ions inside the wall, crossing a small barrier around several meV. Similar 1D vertical ferroelectricity in ternary boron carbonitride hybrid nanotubes that have already been synthesized is also predicted. In comparison, herein, polarization is switched by rolling the whole nanotube, which can be realized by applying just a local electric field induced by a tip due to its structural rigidity, which is long sought but remains challenging in current explorations on either conventional or low‐dimensional FEs.