Ferroelectric electroceramics have driven modern electronics for over a century, from BaTiO3 capacitors to Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 actuators and relaxor ferroelectric crystal medical transducers. As the field moves toward the next 100 years, a central question is how these materials can align with global sustainability goals. This focus issue, titled “Electroceramics in Sustainability,” brings together 26 invited articles reviewed here under six themes. First, low-temperature processing, microwave sintering, cold sintering, molten salt synthesis, and aerosol deposition can substantially reduce energy consumption and emissions compared to conventional high-temperature sintering. Second, solid-state refrigeration based on electrocaloric, magnetocaloric, and thermoelectric effects offers refrigerant-free, compact alternatives to vapor-compression cooling, with interface engineering and bilayer design broadening the operating temperature window. Third, lead-free piezoelectrics have reached near-Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 performance through multi-strategy synergy (phase boundaries, texture, nanodomains, defects), while bismuth layer-structured ferroelectrics address high-temperature applications. However, life cycle assessment shows that “lead-free” does not automatically mean “environmentally friendly”: niobium in (K,Na)NbO3 and antimony in many lead-free systems carry extraction burdens, calling for circular economy strategies. Fourth, energy harvesting via piezoelectric, pyroelectric, and ferroelectric photovoltaic effects enables self-powered wearables, internet of things nodes, and implants. Fifth, dielectric capacitors, through high-entropy, composite, and grain-size engineering, achieve ultra-fast charge/discharge and high-power density for renewable energy integration, electrical vehicle inverters, and artificial intelligence servers; proton-conducting fuel cells are discussed as a complementary clean energy technology. Beyond bulk ceramics, thin-film ferroelectrics such as AlScN and HfO2 are lead-free, and low-temperature processable, enabling miniaturization and on-chip integration. Taken together, the 26 articles reveal four emerging trends: a shift from performance-only to a balanced performance–environment–resource triangle, from single-strategy to multi-strategy synergy, from material-driven to scenario-driven design, and from a linear make–use–dispose model to a closed-loop manufacturing–use–recycling model. Thus, sustainability is not merely an external constraint on electroceramics but an endogenous driver for the continued evolution of the field. Graphical abstract

The sustainable future of electroceramics

期刊论文
发表日期：

2026年8月3日

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Shujun Zhang,
Ziqi Sun,
Haiyan Wang,
Andrew J. Bell,
Clive A. Randall

摘要

Ferroelectric electroceramics have driven modern electronics for over a century, from BaTiO₃ capacitors to Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃ actuators and relaxor ferroelectric crystal medical transducers. As the field moves toward the next 100 years, a central question is how these materials can align with global sustainability goals. This focus issue, titled “Electroceramics in Sustainability,” brings together 26 invited articles reviewed here under six themes. First, low-temperature processing, microwave sintering, cold sintering, molten salt synthesis, and aerosol deposition can substantially reduce energy consumption and emissions compared to conventional high-temperature sintering. Second, solid-state refrigeration based on electrocaloric, magnetocaloric, and thermoelectric effects offers refrigerant-free, compact alternatives to vapor-compression cooling, with interface engineering and bilayer design broadening the operating temperature window. Third, lead-free piezoelectrics have reached near-Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃ performance through multi-strategy synergy (phase boundaries, texture, nanodomains, defects), while bismuth layer-structured ferroelectrics address high-temperature applications. However, life cycle assessment shows that “lead-free” does not automatically mean “environmentally friendly”: niobium in (K,Na)NbO₃ and antimony in many lead-free systems carry extraction burdens, calling for circular economy strategies. Fourth, energy harvesting via piezoelectric, pyroelectric, and ferroelectric photovoltaic effects enables self-powered wearables, internet of things nodes, and implants. Fifth, dielectric capacitors, through high-entropy, composite, and grain-size engineering, achieve ultra-fast charge/discharge and high-power density for renewable energy integration, electrical vehicle inverters, and artificial intelligence servers; proton-conducting fuel cells are discussed as a complementary clean energy technology. Beyond bulk ceramics, thin-film ferroelectrics such as AlScN and HfO₂ are lead-free, and low-temperature processable, enabling miniaturization and on-chip integration. Taken together, the 26 articles reveal four emerging trends: a shift from performance-only to a balanced performance–environment–resource triangle, from single-strategy to multi-strategy synergy, from material-driven to scenario-driven design, and from a linear make–use–dispose model to a closed-loop manufacturing–use–recycling model. Thus, sustainability is not merely an external constraint on electroceramics but an endogenous driver for the continued evolution of the field.

Graphical abstract