Atomic reconfiguration among tri-state transition at ferroelectric/antiferroelectric phase boundaries in Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃

Phase boundary provides a fertile ground for exploring emergent phenomena and understanding order parameters couplings in condensed-matter physics. In Pb(Zr_1-xTi_x)O₃, there are two types of composition-dependent phase boundary with both technological and scientific importance, i.e. morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) separating polar regimes into different symmetry and ferroelectric/antiferroelectric (FE/AFE) phase boundary dividing polar and antipolar dipole configurations. In contrast with extensive studies on MPB, FE/AFE phase boundary is far less explored. Here, we apply atomic-scale imaging and Rietveld refinement to directly demonstrate the intermediate phase at FE/AFE phase boundary exhibits a rare multipolar Pb-cations ordering, i.e. coexistence of antipolar or polar displacement, which manifests itself in both periodically gradient lattice spacing and anomalous initial hysteresis loop. In-situ electron/neutron diffraction reveals that the same parent intermediate phase can transform into either FE or AFE state depending on suppression of antipolar or polar displacement, coupling with the evolution of long-/short-range oxygen octahedra tilts. First-principle calculations further show that the transition between AFE and FE phase can occur in a low-energy pathway via the intermediate phase. These findings enrich the structural understanding of FE/AFE phase boundary in perovskite oxides.