Issue 17, 2018

Piezoelectricity of strongly polarized ferroelectrics in prototropic organic crystals

Abstract

The replacement of lead-containing piezoceramics is increasingly in demand for environmentally benign applications in various electromechanical devices. However, small organic molecules have attracted little interest in relation to their piezoelectric properties. We examined the direct and the converse piezoelectric effects at room temperature of several prototropic organic ferroelectrics having large spontaneous polarizations. The magnitude of the piezoelectric coefficient d33 showed a positive correlation with the spontaneous polarization. Whereas the maximum d33 (∼15 pC N−1 for croconic acid) is comparable to the highest level ever observed among nonferroelectric small molecules, it is about half that of ferroelectric polymers and one or two orders of magnitude smaller than those of the commercially available piezoceramics. The modest piezoelectricity of prototropic ferroelectrics, despite their strong polarization, is opposite in behavior to that of ferroelectric Rochelle salt or triglycine sulfate. Plausibly, its origin can be ascribed to thermally robust ferroelectricity and a microscopic mechanism of ferroelectric switching that minimizes molecular deformations and reorientations.

Graphical abstract: Piezoelectricity of strongly polarized ferroelectrics in prototropic organic crystals

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
02 Mar 2018
Accepted
31 Mar 2018
First published
02 Apr 2018

J. Mater. Chem. C, 2018,6, 4714-4719

Piezoelectricity of strongly polarized ferroelectrics in prototropic organic crystals

S. Horiuchi, J. Tsutsumi, K. Kobayashi, R. Kumai and S. Ishibashi, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2018, 6, 4714 DOI: 10.1039/C8TC01046C

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