Engineered local polarization disorder unlocks record efficiency in antiferroelectric capacitors

Antiferroelectric ceramics are promising for next-generation electrostatic energy storage, yet their performance is fundamentally constrained by the trade-off between high energy storage efficiency (η) and large recoverable energy storage density (Wrec), arising from the antiferroelectric-to-ferroelectric phase transition and associated hysteresis loss. Here, we show that a combination of engineered local polarization disorder and high-field operability enables a highly favorable balance of these metrics. In PbZrO3-based ceramics, we introduced controlled compositional heterogeneity that broadens polarization vector distributions while preserving the antiferroelectric modulation. Phase-field simulations and experiments indicate that this engineered disorder spatially distributes the switching fields associated with the antiferroelectric–ferroelectric transition, thereby reducing polarization hysteresis while maintaining high polarization strength. As a result, the multilayer ceramic capacitors achieve Wrec = 23.2 J cm−3 and η = 98.1% at 167 kV mm−1, corresponding to a figure of merit of 1220, surpassing most reported state-of-the-art multilayer ceramic capacitors under comparable high-field conditions. These findings highlight local polarization disorder as a key mechanism that, in combination with enhanced breakdown strength, enables ultrahigh energy storage performance and offers a promising route toward high-performance capacitive energy storage for advanced pulsed-power applications. The authors introduce controlled compositional heterogeneity to broaden polarization vector distributions while preserving the antiferroelectric modulation in PbZrO3-based ceramics. They reduce polarization hysteresis while maintaining high polarization strength.