A multifunctional molecular ferroelectric with chiral features, a high Curie temperature, large spontaneous polarization and photoluminescence: (C9H14N)2CdBr4

Low-dimensional chiral organic-inorganic hybrid metal halides have attracted a lot of attention in recent years due to their unique intrinsic properties, including having potential applications in optoelectronic and spintronic devices. However, low-dimensional chiral molecular ferroelectrics are very rare. In this paper, we report a novel zero-dimensional molecular ferroelectric (C9H14N)(2)CdBr4 (C9H14N+ = protonated 3-phenylpropylamine), which has obvious dielectric and thermal anomalies and shows a high Curie temperature at 395 K. It crystallizes in the P2(1) space group at room temperature, showing a strong CD signal, large spontaneous polarization (P-s = 13.5 mu C cm(-2)), and a clear ferroelectric domain. In addition, it also exhibits a flexible SHG response. The photoluminescence spectrum shows that 1 has broadband luminescence. At the same time, compound 1 has a wide band gap, which is mainly contributed to by the inorganic CdBr4 tetrahedron. The high tunability of low-dimensional chiral molecular ferroelectrics also opens up a way to explore multifunctional chiral materials.

Automated summary

A novel zero-dimensional molecular ferroelectric with significant dielectric and thermal anomalies, high Curie temperature at 395 K, strong CD signal, large spontaneous polarization, and clear ferroelectric domain has been reported in this study. Additionally, it shows a flexible SHG response and broadband luminescence, with a wide band gap mainly contributed by the inorganic CdBr4 tetrahedron. The high tunability of low-dimensional chiral molecular ferroelectrics offers a way to explore multifunctional chiral materials.