Fast switching of spontaneous polarization in a microporous molecular rotor ferroelectric

The fast switching feature of spontaneous polarization (P-s) is one of the basis for ferroelectric applications in the field of data storage. However, most molecular ferroelectrics exhibit low operating performance in polarization switching. Herein, we report fast switching P-s (25 kHz, 293 K) and low coercive field (0.55 kV cm(-1), 353 K) for a microporous structural molecular rotor ferroelectric [CdL4](2+)[NO3-](2) (L = beta-alanine). In particular, the high switching frequency of P-s remains steady with high operational cycles (4.66 x 10(7)). Single-crystal structures analysis and density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal the fast switching of P-s originating from the fast static-rotating-static process of NO3-. This molecular rotor-type ferroelectric material provides more possibilities to develop next-generation non-volatile memory devices.

Automated summary

This research reports a microporous structural molecular rotor ferroelectric material with fast switching spontaneous polarization (P-s), high operational performance, and stability, which shows potential application in the next-generation non-volatile memory devices.