Rishukumar Panday, Dipti R. Naphade, Anirudh Sowmiyanarayanan, Balu Praveenkumar, Alexander Steiner, Adam Sieradzki, Jan K. Zaręba, Thomas D. Anthopoulos, Ramamoorthy Boomishankar
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Tailoring Potential Ferroelectric Properties in Conformationally Switchable Er(III)-Isothiocyanates Using Organic Cation Modulation
Hybrid molecular ferroelectrics necessitate switchable components, either organic or inorganic, capable of altering polarity under a reversing electric field. Isothiocyanate (NCS–) ligands display such behavior through nonlinear coordination with metal ions. Homoleptic complexes of lanthanide ions exhibit variable coordination numbers, which can be controlled by the size of the counterions. We harnessed these properties to achieve polar order and ferroelectricity in hybrid [Er(III)(NCS)x]3-x complexes. The incorporation of triethyl methylammonium (TEMA) cations yields the complex [TEMA]4[Er(NCS)7], which exhibits polarity at low temperatures with a Curie temperature (Tc) of 203 K. Notably, the use of bulkier and more rigid ethyltriphenyl phosphonium (ETPP) cations gave a room-temperature stable ferroelectric complex [ETPP]3[Er(NCS)6]. In contrast, flexible cations, such as tripropylmethylammonium (TPMA), tributylmethylammonium (TBMA), and tetraethyl phosphonium (TEP) ions, yielded only centrosymmetric complexes. The polar structural symmetries in [TEMA]4[Er(NCS)7] and [ETPP]3[Er(NCS)6] are attributed to pronounced distortions of the Er(III)-NCS coordination, driven by the rigid nature of organic counterions. The ferroelectric measurements on [ETPP]3[Er(NCS)6] gave a saturation polarization (Ps) of 1.6 μC cm–2. Remarkably, [ETPP]3[Er(NCS)6] exhibits a high piezoelectric charge coefficient (d33) of 22.7 pCN–1 and an electrostrictive coefficient (Q33) of 4.11 m4C–2, enabling its application for piezoelectric energy harvesting.
期刊介绍:
The journal Chemistry of Materials focuses on publishing original research at the intersection of materials science and chemistry. The studies published in the journal involve chemistry as a prominent component and explore topics such as the design, synthesis, characterization, processing, understanding, and application of functional or potentially functional materials. The journal covers various areas of interest, including inorganic and organic solid-state chemistry, nanomaterials, biomaterials, thin films and polymers, and composite/hybrid materials. The journal particularly seeks papers that highlight the creation or development of innovative materials with novel optical, electrical, magnetic, catalytic, or mechanical properties. It is essential that manuscripts on these topics have a primary focus on the chemistry of materials and represent a significant advancement compared to prior research. Before external reviews are sought, submitted manuscripts undergo a review process by a minimum of two editors to ensure their appropriateness for the journal and the presence of sufficient evidence of a significant advance that will be of broad interest to the materials chemistry community.