Integrated Multi‐Channel Responsive Switches in a Room‐Temperature Crystal Actuator

Abstract

Integrating multiple switching behaviors in a single material is conducive to the development of smart devices, but still faces challenges, especially in finding new types of multiresponsive materials. Hybrid metal halides have been becoming promising candidates with the potential to exhibit changes in various physical and chemical properties upon structural phase transitions. Herein, a pair of enantiomers (R/S‐3‐OHPD)PbI3 (1R/1S; 3‐HOPD = 3‐hydroxypiperidine cation) is reported to show multichannel switching behaviors around room temperature triggered by a combined order‐disorder and displacive type phase transition that arouses a large lattice reorganization and shape change of the crystals. Owing to the inherent chiral, noncentrosymmetric, and semiconducting characteristics of the compounds, five other switching behaviors are realized besides the macroscopic deformation, that is, enthalpy, dielectric permittivity, photoluminescence, circularly polarized light excited photoluminescence, and photoelectric response. This study provides an exciting example of phase transition crystals for the development of integrated multifunctional materials.