Electric response in the antiferroelectric crystal of 4,4′-di-t-butyl-2,2′-bipyridyl with chloranilic acid

Abstract

The electric response was analyzed in the vicinity of the structural phase transition at 412K in the single crystals of 2,5-dichloro-3,6-dihydroxy-p-benzoquinone (chloranilic acid, CLA) with 4,4′-di-t-butyl-2,2′-bipyridyl (dtBBP). The dielectric permittivity of the complex measured along the b direction between 300 and 440K and at frequencies ranging from 500Hz to 2MHz indicates two phenomena. At low frequencies, dielectric losses are ascribed to the electric conductivity of the crystal, while at high frequencies, to the dielectric relaxation described by means of the Cole–Cole relationship. The parameters of the dielectric response: the relaxation time, τ, the dielectric increment, εο−ε∞, and the distribution parameter of the relaxation time, α, were estimated and analyzed. The low-temperature structure of the crystals indicates the antiferroelectric arrangement of the supramolecular hydrogen bonds. The dielectric results also presented for the deuterated crystals of dtBBP·CLA proved that the dynamics of protons in the hydrogen bonds are responsible for the mechanism of phase transition.