The WITec PaperAward in bronze went to the paper entitled High spatial resolution structure of (K,Na)NbO₃ lead-free ferroelectric domains by Dr. Fernando Rubio-Marcos et al., in collaboration with researchers at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, which was published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry. The jury chose their scientific work for the award because it shows the combination of Raman spectroscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) as a powerful tool to investigate ferroelectric domains. Research group on Ceramics for Smart Systems, leaded by Prof. Dr. José F. Fernández from the Electroceramic Department, has been working on this technique for several years to characterize their materials with very successfully results, as this award proves.
The complete reference for the article is: F. Rubio-Marcos, A. Del Campo, R. López-Juárez, J.. J. Romero, J. F. Fernández. “High Spatial Resolution Structure of (K,Na)NbO3 Lead-Free Ferroelectric domains” J. Mater. Chem., 22, 9714-9720 (2012). doi:10.1039/C2JM30483J.
