Room-temperature multiferroic properties of single-crystalline FeWO4 nanowires

FeWO4 nanowires were prepared by the hydrothermal process, and the room-temperature multiferroic properties of as-prepared FeWO4 nanowires were investigated. Herein we report on the observation, for the first time, of ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism coexisting in the FeWO4 nanowires at room temperature. Specifically, the ferroelectricity can be controlled by white light; the relative light-induced change of the saturated polarization is more than 50%. Furthermore, magnetoelectric coupling is also observed in the dark and under light irradiation at 10 K.