Strain-induced improper ferroelectricity in Ruddlesden-Popper perovskite halides

Activating multiple symmetry modes and promoting a strong coupling between different modes by strain are indispensable to stabilize a polar ferroelectric (FE) phase from a nonpolar perovskite. Herein, through first-principles calculations, we propose an undiscovered and general avenue to engineering ferroelectricity in photovoltaic perovskites with a Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) structure. It is demonstrated that an experimentally accessible compressive strain can induce an in-plane polarization in RP perovskite halides thin films, resulting in an unusual paraelectric to FE phase transition. The detailed analysis on structure and energy reveals that the unusual FE phase transition in the perovskite halides stems from the strong coupling between strain and antiferrodistortive (AFD) mode. Further calculations show that the strain-AFD coupling-induced ferroelectricity is not only exhibited by perovskite halides but also observed in perovskite sulfides such as Ba3Zr2S7. Moreover, it is found that the strained FE thin film possesses a suitable band gap of 1.6 eV for photovoltaic application. These findings not only unfold a general way to engineering nonpolar-to-polar transition, but also open an avenue to design optimal FE semiconductors for solar cell applications.