A room temperature ferroelectric material with photoluminescence: (1,3-dicyclohexylimidazole)₂MnCl₄

Molecular ferroelectric materials have been widely used in capacitors and sensors due to their low cost, light weight, flexibility and good biocompatibility. Organic-inorganic hybrid complexes, on the other hand, have received a great deal of attention in the luminescence field due to their low cost and simple preparation. The combination of ferroelectricity and photoluminescence in organic-inorganic hybrid materials not only leads to tunable optical properties, but also enriches potential applications of multifunctional ferroelectrics in optoelectronic devices. Here, we report a new luminescent ferroelectric material (1,3-dicyclohexylimidazole)(2)MnCl4 (DHIMC). Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to measure the mass change of the material at a measurement rate of 20 K min(-1) from room temperature to 900 K, and we found that this material has good thermostability, which is up to 383 K. Meanwhile, UV-vis measurements showed that it is also a fluorescent material emitting a strong green fluorescence at the wavelength of 525 nm. The ferroelectricity of the crystal was determined by two different methods: the Sawyer-Tower method and the double-wave method (DWM). Particularly, the single crystal experiences a phase transition from the ferroelectric phase to the paraelectric phase during the heating/cooling process at 318 K/313 K and the space group changes from P1 (centrosymmetric) to P1 (non-centrosymmetric). This work will enrich multifunctional luminescent ferroelectric materials and their application in display and sensing.