A Molecular Ferroelectric Showing Room-Temperature Record-Fast Switching of Spontaneous Polarization

Fast switching of spontaneous polarization (P-s) is one of the most essential requirements for ferroelectrics used in the field of data storage. However, in contrast to inorganic counterparts, the low operating frequency (<500Hz) for molecular ferroelectrics severely hinders their large-scale applications. Herein, for the first time, we achieved the room-temperature fastest switching of the P-s in a new molecular ferroelectric, N-methylmorpholinium trinitrophenolate (1), which displays notable ferroelectricity (P-s=3.2ccm(-2)). Strikingly, electric polarizations of 1 have been switched under a record-high frequency of 263kHz, and this performance remains stable without any obvious fatigue after ca. 2x10(5) switching cycles. To our knowledge, 1 is the first organic ferroelectric to switch polarization at such a high operating frequency, exceeding the majority of organic ferroelectrics, which opens up new possibilities for its potential in the field of non-volatile memory.