Peter Medle-Rupnik, Nerea Sebastian and Alenka Mertelj from the Department of Complex Matter and Darja Lisjak from the Material Synthesis Department, in collaboration with researchers from Otto-von-Guericke University, Technical University Braunschweig and Merck Electronics KGaA, have demonstrated an example of a liquid that uniquely exhibits both ferroelectric and ferromagnetic ordering. The breakthrough focuses on a nanostructured liquid crystalline hybrid, composed of ferrimagnetic barium hexaferrite nanoparticles suspended in a ferroelectric nematic host, where director-mediated interactions drive the self-assembly of nanoplatelets in an intricate network. This system shows magnetically driven electric and nonlinear optical responses, alongside electrically driven magnetic responses.
This achievement marks significant progress toward the development of multiresponsive multiferroic liquids, with promising potential for advanced applications in energy harvesting, nonlinear optics, and next-generation sensors.
The article, published in Advanced Materials, can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202508406