Observation of universal thermopolarization effect in insulators

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that temperature gradients can induce electrical polarization in various insulators through a thermomechanical mechanism involving strain gradients and flexoelectricity, expanding heat-to-charge conversion methods.

Contribution

It reveals a universal thermopolarization effect in insulators driven by thermal expansion and flexoelectricity, independent of material symmetry, with potential for nanoscale applications.

Findings

Heat-induced polarization detected in diverse insulators.

Response scales with thermal expansion coefficient.

Reducing thickness and structural instabilities enhance the effect.

Abstract

Heat-to-charge conversion has traditionally been realized via the Seebeck effect in conductors and pyroelectricity in polar insulators. Here, we demonstrate that temperature gradients generate electrical polarization, namely thermopolarization, in a wide range of insulators through a thermomechanical pathway. We identify a mechanism where thermal expansion under a temperature gradient produces strain gradients that induce polarization via the flexoelectric effect. Using a device with an on-chip heater, we detect the heat-induced polarization in crystalline, polymeric, and amorphous systems, including MgO, Al$_2$O$_3$, MnO, mica, PET, PEN, polyimide, and soda-lime glass. The magnitude of the response exhibits a robust scaling with the coefficient of thermal expansion, which is reproduced by finite-element simulations. Furthermore, we identify two routes to enhance the response: reducing the sample thickness and exploiting structural instabilities such as glass and antiferromagnetic phase transitions, where more than an order-of-magnitude enhancement is observed. These results establish a symmetry-independent route for heat-to-charge conversion in insulators and provide a device-compatible platform for electrically probing lattice responses, with potential for enhancement in nanoscale systems such as two-dimensional materials.