Facet-Engineered Flexoelectricity of Centrosymmetric Semiconductors

Facet-Engineered Flexoelectricity of Centrosymmetric Semiconductors | 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 Facet-Engineered Flexoelectricity of Centrosymmetric Semiconductors XU LIANG, Yifan Wang, Haoxuan Wang, Xin Zhang, Hongxing Shang, and 6 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6565288/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 The establishment and control of electromechanical polarization in centrosymmetric materials have been a long-standing challenge in condensed matter physics. While flexoelectricity enables polarization through strain gradients, the induced charge response is still severely limited due to the weak flexoelectric coefficient (pC/m). Here, by crystal facet engineering of lattice symmetry-breaking, we achieve precise tuning of electromechanical polarization across nearly three orders of magnitude in centrosymmetric rutile titanium dioxides without extra external fields or chemical doping. The underlying insight highlights that facet-dependent effective carrier mass mediates mobility anisotropy, which in turn governs the strain-gradient-induced charge redistribution critical for flexoelectric polarization. Furthermore, we demonstrate that crystal facet engineering enhances electromechanical polarization across diverse material systems, spanning wide-bandgap semiconductor to perovskite-based compound. This facet-driven symmetry-breaking approach extends material-by-design strategies for centrosymmetric semiconductors and programmable electromechanical devices including flexible electronics and energy harvesters. Physical sciences/Materials science/Condensed-matter physics/Surfaces, interfaces and thin films Physical sciences/Materials science/Condensed-matter physics/Semiconductors Physical sciences/Physics/Condensed-matter physics/Semiconductors Physical sciences/Physics/Condensed-matter physics/Ferroelectrics and multiferroics Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SupplimentaryMaterialManuscript20250425.docx Facet-Engineered Flexoelectricity of Centrosymmetric Semiconductors 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. 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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-6565288","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":467263623,"identity":"5ec7d14b-12c0-4020-af08-87a53418b4e5","order_by":0,"name":"XU 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