Plastic/Ferroelectric Crystals with Easily Switchable Polarization: Low-Voltage Operation, Unprecedentedly High Pyroelectric Performance, and Large Piezoelectric Effect in Polycrystalline Forms.

Molecular ferroelectric crystals have attracted growing interest as potential alternatives to conventional lead-based ceramic ferroelectrics. We have recently discovered that a class of compounds known as plastic crystals can show multiaxial ferroelectricity, which allows ferroelectric performance even in polycrystalline forms. Here, we report new plastic/ferroelectric ionic molecular crystals that exhibit remarkably small coercive electric fields at room temperature. The easily switchable ferroelectric polarization enables low-voltage switching operations and high-frequency performance. Such ferroelectric crystals can be readily processed into bulk polycrystalline forms with desired shapes that are characterized by unprecedentedly high pyroelectric figures of merit and large piezoelectricity. These multifunctional molecular crystals represent highly attractive prospects for device elements with a diverse range of applications, which will significantly boost the development of molecular ferroelectric crystals.