A comprehensive guide to a unique class of compounds with a variety of applications

Since the discovery of graphene, there has been intensive interest in two-dimensional materials with similar electronic and industrial applications. The limitations on the usefulness of graphene itself, however, have powered the search for other materials with similar properties. One such class of materials, the phosphorous chalcogenides, has proven a particularly fruitful avenue for research, due to the favorable band gap and ferroelectric properties of these materials.

Van der Waals Ferroelectrics provides, for the first time, a detailed overview of this highly relevant and sought-after class of materials, also known as transition metal chalcogenophosphates (TMCPs). Focusing on physical properties, the book explores the complex physics underlying these compounds as well as the unique characteristics that have driven their ever-increasing importance to the materials science community.

Van der Waals Ferroelectrics readers will also find:

• Both computational and experimental perspectives on TCMP compounds
• In-depth discussion of the properties essential to the design and construction of devices like sensors, actuators, memory chips, and capacitors
• The first detailed review of the functional properties of TCMP compounds, such as ferrielectricity, electrostriction, and ionic conductivity

Van der Waals Ferroelectrics is a useful reference for materials scientists, inorganic chemists, solid state chemists, solid state physicists, electrical engineers, and libraries supporting these professions.