The First Chiro‐Inositol Organosilicon Ferroelectric Crystal

Abstract

Organosilicons have been used extensively in aerospace, electronics, food, medicine and other fields, due to their low viscosity, hydrophobicity, corrosion resistance, non-toxic, and physiologically inert features. Despite extensive interest, however, organosilicon ferroelectric crystals have never been found. Here, by using the chemical design strategy, we successfully obtained a molecular ferroelectric D-chiro-inositol-SiMe 3 with polar P4 3 symmetry, whose spontaneous polarization can be electrically switchable on thin film. The introduction of organosilicon groups endows the thin films with excellent softness, ductility and flexibility (extremely low hardness of 72.8 MPa and small elastic modulus of 5.04 GPa) that are desirable for biomedical and humancompatible applications. As the first case of organosilicon ferroelectric crystal to date, this work offers a new structural paradigm for molecular ferroelectrics, and highlights their potential for flexible bio-electronic applications.

Stretchable Tb–Tb Distance Regulates the Piezofluorochromic Behavior of Chiral Tb(III)-MOF upon Compression

“…Thus, the presence of a chiral ligand with no symmetric centers would enhance the potential for MOF to crystallize in the piezoelectric space groups. Once the chiral ligand coordinated to metal ions or clusters, the resulting MOF materials with a dipole structure or noncentrosymmetric arrangement would achieve the piezoelectric property and facilitate the generation of ML under compression. − Thus, a chiral semiflexible RE-MOF crystallizing in a piezoelectric space group would be the potential candidate to build a connection between structure and piezofluorochromic performance upon compression.…”