Abstract
With the recent increase in research into ferroelectric, anti-ferroelectric and piezoelectric materials, studying the solid-state properties in situ under applied electric fields is vital in understanding the underlying processes. Where this behaviour is the result of atomic displacements, crystallographic insight has an important role. This work presents a sample environment designed to apply an electric field to single-crystal samples in situ on the small-molecule single-crystal diffraction beamline I19, Diamond Light Source (UK). The configuration and operation of the cell is described as well as its application to studies of a proton-transfer colour-change material.
Highlights
Solid-state materials can exhibit interesting dielectric phenomena on the application of an electric field
In this work we have presented for the first time the I19 electric field (ELF) cell for use in single-crystal synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements
Using the I19 ELF cell, we have identified an interesting electric-field-sensitive material, SQABPY-I, found to change colour on application of an electric field
Summary
Solid-state materials can exhibit interesting dielectric phenomena on the application of an electric field. A range of materials exist that exhibit electric field responses in the solid state, including metal oxides, metal–organic frameworks (Zhang & Xiong, 2012), hydrogen-bonded organic molecular crystals (Stroppa et al, 2011; Horiuchi & Tokura, 2008; Owczarek et al, 2016; Horiuchi et al, 2020) and ionic solids (Li et al, 2015; Schmalzried & Smolin, 1998; Zhang et al, 2018; Rodzevich et al, 2017) Related to their dielectric properties, these materials can have applications as pressure sensors (Haertling, 1999), actuators (Wersing et al, 2008), memory devices (Amanuma et al, 2000, Dawber et al, 2005) and capacitors (Bouregba et al, 2003). This new sample environment makes advances in the application of electric fields to those samples on the sub-millimetre scale, whilst offering the opportunity to study processes on microsecond timescales when combined with the I19-2 time-resolved mode
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