Two-dimensional ferroelectric metal for electrocatalysis

Abstract

The coexistence of metallicity and ferroelectricity has been an intriguing and controversial phenomenon as these two material properties are considered incompatible in bulk. We clarify the concept of ferroelectric metal by revisiting the original definitions for ferroelectric and metal. We propose that a two-dimensional (2D) ferroelectric with out-of-plane polarization can be engineered via layer stacking to a genuine ferroelectric metal characterized by switchable polarization and nonzero density of states at the Fermi level. Using multilayer α-In2X3 (X = S, Se, Te) as model systems, we demonstrate that 2D ferroelectric metals serve as electrically-tunable, high-quality electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution and oxygen reduction reactions.