Rejuvenation of Mechanical Fatigue Resistance in Two-dimensional Ferroelectric CuInP2S6 by Reversing Ionic Motion

Rejuvenation of Mechanical Fatigue Resistance in Two-dimensional Ferroelectric CuInP2S6 by Reversing Ionic Motion | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Rejuvenation of Mechanical Fatigue Resistance in Two-dimensional Ferroelectric CuInP 2 S 6 by Reversing Ionic Motion Guorui Wang, Xiqi Wu, Shuai Han, Zhaoheng Zhang, Yafei Wang, Jiahao Li, and 7 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7624923/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Two-dimensional (2D) ferroelectrics promise mechanically flexible, multifunctional electronics, yet their long-term mechanical reliability remains poorly defined. Here we scrutinize the ionic van der Waals (vdW) ferroelectric CuInP 2 S 6 (CIPS) via atomic force microscopy-based fatigue testing and demonstrate the unprecedented fatigue performance of CIPS that survives > 10 7 cycles at stresses approaching 7 GPa, outperforming the fatigue tolerance of conventional ferroelectric counterparts. This endurance is governed by stress induced flexoelectric fields that drive Cu + ion migration, forming reversible protrusions. Crucially, the disordered lattice can be repaired to restore mechanical robustness through electric-field controlled ionic motion and extend the fatigue life by a further order of magnitude, establishing an electromechanically switchable self-rejuvenation protocol. Our findings position ion-migration dynamics as a pivotal lever for fatigue engineering in ionic vdW crystals and outline design principles for durable, reconfigurable 2D electromechanical systems. Physical sciences/Nanoscience and technology/Nanoscale materials/Two-dimensional materials Physical sciences/Engineering/Mechanical engineering Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SupplementaryInformationNatCommun.docx Supplementary Information Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7624923","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":517922254,"identity":"c742770f-0cfb-42a7-91d8-f63682135955","order_by":0,"name":"Guorui 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Motion\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research 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Here we scrutinize the ionic van der Waals (vdW) ferroelectric CuInP\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eS\u003csub\u003e6\u003c/sub\u003e (CIPS) via atomic force microscopy-based fatigue testing and demonstrate the unprecedented fatigue performance of CIPS that survives\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;10\u003csup\u003e7\u003c/sup\u003e cycles at stresses approaching 7 GPa, outperforming the fatigue tolerance of conventional ferroelectric counterparts. This endurance is governed by stress induced flexoelectric fields that drive Cu\u003csup\u003e+\u003c/sup\u003e ion migration, forming reversible protrusions. Crucially, the disordered lattice can be repaired to restore mechanical robustness through electric-field controlled ionic motion and extend the fatigue life by a further order of magnitude, establishing an electromechanically switchable self-rejuvenation protocol. Our findings position ion-migration dynamics as a pivotal lever for fatigue engineering in ionic vdW crystals and outline design principles for durable, reconfigurable 2D electromechanical systems.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Rejuvenation of Mechanical Fatigue Resistance in Two-dimensional Ferroelectric CuInP2S6 by Reversing Ionic Motion","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-10-21 05:35:41","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7624923/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"79549894-015d-4498-85e7-0b049d5ecb6c","owner":[],"postedDate":"October 21st, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":56615540,"name":"Physical sciences/Nanoscience and technology/Nanoscale materials/Two-dimensional materials"},{"id":56615541,"name":"Physical sciences/Engineering/Mechanical engineering"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-10-21T05:35:41+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-10-21 05:35:41","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7624923","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7624923","identity":"rs-7624923","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}