Stabilization of Ferroelectric Phase in Highly Oriented Quinuclidinium Perrhenate (HQReO<sub>4</sub>) Thin Films

The low-temperature processability of molecular ferroelectric (FE) crystals makes them a potential alternative for perovskite oxide-based ferroelectric thin films. Quinuclidinium perrhenate (HQReO<sub>4</sub>) is one such molecular FE crystal that exhibits ferroelectricity when crystalli...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Junyoung Lee, Woojun Seol, Gopinathan Anoop, Shibnath Samanta, Sanjith Unithrattil, Dante Ahn, Woochul Kim, Gunyoung Jung, Jiyoung Jo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-04-01
Series:Materials
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/9/2126
Description
Summary:The low-temperature processability of molecular ferroelectric (FE) crystals makes them a potential alternative for perovskite oxide-based ferroelectric thin films. Quinuclidinium perrhenate (HQReO<sub>4</sub>) is one such molecular FE crystal that exhibits ferroelectricity when crystallized in an intermediate temperature phase (ITP). However, bulk HQReO<sub>4</sub> crystals exhibit ferroelectricity only for a narrow temperature window (22 K), above and below which the polar phase transforms to a non-FE phase. The FE phase or ITP of HQReO<sub>4</sub> should be stabilized in a much wider temperature range for practical applications. Here, to stabilize the FE phase (ITP) in a wider temperature range, highly oriented thin films of HQReO<sub>4</sub> were prepared using a simple solution process. A slow evaporation method was adapted for drying the HQReO<sub>4</sub> thin films to control the morphology and the temperature window. The temperature window of the intermediate temperature FE phase was successfully widened up to 35 K by merely varying the film drying temperature between 333 and 353 K. The strategy of stabilizing the FE phase in a wider temperature range can be adapted to other molecular FE materials to realize flexible electronic devices.
ISSN:1996-1944