Layered van der Waals CuInP2S6 (CIPS) is a promising two-dimensional (2D) ferroelectric for developing low-power 2D electronics and flexible energy applications. A major hurdle for its technological application is its close to room temperature ferroelectric ordering temperature (TC). Our study provides an effective strategy to enhance the ferroelectricity and piezoelectricity of ultrathin CIPS, making it a viable material candidate for room temperature device operation. The gained knowledge can also be applied to other 2D ferroic materials for property engineering.

Four graduate students (one female), an undergraduate student (female), and a high school student (female) have participated in this research. Hailey Anderson, a physics sophomore at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), has prepared nanoscale CIPS flakes and performed piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) studies of domain formation in these samples. She presented her work in the 2023 UNL Student Research Days and co-authored a paper published in ACS Nano (2023). This project thus contributes to the workforce development for materials research and nanoscience .