An above-room-temperature phosphonium-based molecular ferroelectric perovskite, [(CH3)4P]CdCl3, with Sb3+-doped luminescence

Lin Zhou,Ping-Ping Shi,Da-Wei Fu,Yi Zhang,Jing-Chun Feng,Yu-Meng You,Ye-Feng Yao,Xiao-Ming Liu,Qiong Ye,Ren-Gen Xiong,Peng-Fei Li

doi:10.1038/s41427-019-0115-0

Abstract

Molecular ferroelectrics are attracting tremendous interest because of their low cost, mechanical flexibility, easy processing, low weight, and low acoustical impedance. Moreover, their combination of ferroelectric and optical properties has led to investigations of their many potential applications, such as low-energy electron excitation and field emission displays. However, luminescent molecular ferroelectrics have rarely been reported, except for several AMnX3-type or lanthanide ion-based luminescent ferroelectrics. Here, we report the first above-room-temperature phosphonium-based molecular ferroelectric perovskite, [(CH3)4P]CdCl3 (1), with a high Curie temperature (Tc = 348 K) and moderate remanent polarization (Pr = 0.43 μC/cm2). Using piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM), the typical stripe-like domains of ferroelectrics can be observed. Moreover, 1 exhibits orange luminescence under UV excitation after doping with Sb3+, which represents a first step toward realizing luminescence-enhanced molecular ferroelectrics with various wavelengths. These results will inspire the further exploration of phosphonium-based ferroelectrics and pave the way toward practical applications in ferroelectric luminescence and/or multifunctional devices.

Highlights

Ferroelectric materials with luminescent properties are an important class of optoelectronic functional materials that possess great potential for applications in spintronics, photovoltaics, optical–electrical–mechanical actuators, and so on[1]
To detect the phase transition behavior, Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements were performed on powder samples of 1 over the temperature range of 280–400 K
The DSC curves reveal that 1 undergoes a reversible phase transition near Tc = 348 K, where a pair of endothermic and exothermic peaks appear (Fig. 1)

Summary

Introduction

Ferroelectric materials with luminescent properties are an important class of optoelectronic functional materials that possess great potential for applications in spintronics, photovoltaics, optical–electrical–mechanical actuators, and so on[1]. Compared with inorganic ABO3 ferroelectrics, the organic–inorganic hybrid materials in the family of ABX3 (where A is an organic cation, M is a metal ion, and X is Cl–, Br–, I–, CN–, HCOO– or N3–) have the advantages of being lightweight, low-cost, and easy to synthesize[4,5,6]. Organic–inorganic hybrid compounds with an ABX3 perovskite structure are unique candidates for their ability to offer exciting multifunctional properties (including magnetism, electricity, optical, and mechanical)[7,8,9,10]. All of these traits make them promising supplements or alternatives to inorganic ferroelectrics, encouraging us to discover new ABX3 organic–inorganic hybrid luminescent ferroelectrics

Methods

Results

Conclusion