Above-room-temperature ferroelectricity and antiferroelectricity in benzimidazoles

Sachio Horiuchi (), Fumitaka Kagawa, Kensuke Hatahara, Kensuke Kobayashi, Reiji Kumai, Youichi Murakami and Yoshinori Tokura
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Sachio Horiuchi: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)
Fumitaka Kagawa: CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)
Kensuke Hatahara: University of Tokyo
Kensuke Kobayashi: Condensed Matter Research Center (CMRC) and Photon Factory, Institute of Materials Structure Science, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK)
Reiji Kumai: CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)
Youichi Murakami: Condensed Matter Research Center (CMRC) and Photon Factory, Institute of Materials Structure Science, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK)
Yoshinori Tokura: University of Tokyo

Nature Communications, 2012, vol. 3, issue 1, 1-6

Abstract: Abstract The imidazole unit is chemically stable and ubiquitous in biological systems; its proton donor and acceptor moieties easily bind molecules into a dipolar chain. Here we demonstrate that chains of these amphoteric molecules can often be bistable in electric polarity and electrically switchable, even in the crystalline state, through proton tautomerization. Polarization–electric field (P–E) hysteresis experiments reveal a high electric polarization ranging from 5 to 10 μC cm−2 at room temperature. Of these molecules, 2-methylbenzimidazole allows ferroelectric switching in two dimensions due to its pseudo-tetragonal crystal symmetry. The ferroelectricity is also thermally robust up to 400 K, as is that of 5,6-dichloro-2-methylbenzimidazole (up to ~373 K). In contrast, three other benzimidazoles exhibit double P–E hysteresis curves characteristic of antiferroelectricity. The diversity of imidazole substituents is likely to stimulate a systematic exploration of various structure–property relationships and domain engineering in the quest for lead- and rare-metal-free ferroelectric devices.

Date: 2012
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2322

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