A Short Review on Verwey Transition in Nanostructured Fe₃O₄ Materials

Figure 9

Sketch of the possible origin of ferroelectricity in Fe₃O₄ and emphasis on the Fe chains running in the (110) direction of Fe₃O₄ []. In the chains, there is an alternation of Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺ ions (open and filled circles). Concurrently, there is an alternation of short and long Fe-Fe bonds; shifts of Fe ions are shown by black arrows. The resulting polarization is indicated by the red arrows (a) [49]. Electric saturation polarization of the Fe₃O₄ films made by pulsed laser deposition and sputtering (b) [50].

(a)

(b)