Strain and domain engineering offer powerful routes to control phase and domain stability in ferroelectric thin films. While most studies have focused on (100)-oriented growth, the impact of lower-symmetry orientations remains underexplored. We address this knowledge gap with first-principles-based molecular dynamics simulations for the example of prototypical ferroelectric perovskites under (110) strain. Epitaxial (110) strains may indeed outperform the widely studied (100) orientation, as even modest strain values stabilize a diverse set of metastable nanoscale states with potential high functional tunability. In this regime, the films exhibit multidomain configurations with domain wall normals oriented along the clamped in-plane or the relaxed out-of-plane directions and heterophases in ${\mathrm{BaTiO}}_3$ and ${\mathrm{KNbO}}_3$. Besides, complex superdomain patterns and antiferroelectriclike domains are observed in ${\mathrm{PbTiO}}_3$. These metastable nanoscale configurations may allow for large reversible responses.

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• Domains
• Epitaxial strain
• Ferroelectric domains
• Ferroelectricity
• Phase transitions
• Perovskites
• Molecular dynamics