- Cai, Songhua;
- Lun, Yingzhuo;
- Ji, Dianxiang;
- Lv, Peng;
- Han, Lu;
- Guo, Changqing;
- Zang, Yipeng;
- Gao, Si;
- Wei, Yifan;
- Gu, Min;
- Zhang, Chunchen;
- Gu, Zhengbin;
- Wang, Xueyun;
- Addiego, Christopher;
- Fang, Daining;
- Nie, Yuefeng;
- Hong, Jiawang;
- Wang, Peng;
- Pan, Xiaoqing
Recent realizations of ultrathin freestanding perovskite oxides offer a unique platform to probe novel properties in two-dimensional oxides. Here, we observe a giant flexoelectric response in freestanding BiFeO3 and SrTiO3 in their bent state arising from strain gradients up to 3.5 × 107 m-1, suggesting a promising approach for realizing ultra-large polarizations. Additionally, a substantial change in membrane thickness is discovered in bent freestanding BiFeO3, which implies an unusual bending-expansion/shrinkage effect in the ferroelectric membrane that has never been seen before in crystalline materials. Our theoretical model reveals that this unprecedented flexural deformation within the membrane is attributable to a flexoelectricity-piezoelectricity interplay. The finding unveils intriguing nanoscale electromechanical properties and provides guidance for their practical applications in flexible nanoelectromechanical systems.