Experimentally confirmed ferroelectricity in organic compounds identified by database mining
Compared to inorganic ferroelectrics, the breadth of polarization switching mechanisms in organic ferroelectrics is very broad and far from fully characterized or understood. Here, we experimentally investigate the absence or presence of ferroelectric properties in a selection of organic materials t...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2026
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| In: |
Physical chemistry, chemical physics
Year: 2026, Volume: 28, Issue: 7, Pages: 4636-4647 |
| ISSN: | 1463-9084 |
| DOI: | 10.1039/D5CP03009A |
| Online Access: | Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1039/D5CP03009A Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2026/cp/d5cp03009a 
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| Author Notes: | Maximilian Litterst, Manjunath Balagopalan, Ramon Jannasch, Elin Dypvik Sødahl, Seyedmojtaba Seyedraoufi, Carl Henrik Gørbitz, Kristian Berland, Ola Nilsen and Martijn Kemerink |
| Summary: | Compared to inorganic ferroelectrics, the breadth of polarization switching mechanisms in organic ferroelectrics is very broad and far from fully characterized or understood. Here, we experimentally investigate the absence or presence of ferroelectric properties in a selection of organic materials that have been identified by a data mining approach using heuristic measures to identify stretchability, aiming to assess the practical potential of this approach. From a set of 66 candidate materials, 4 were selected for detailed analysis. These were investigated structurally using powder X-ray diffraction and electrically, using capacitance-voltage spectroscopy and polarization hysteresis measurements. Despite large differences in stability and background conductivity, all compounds exhibited ferroelectric behavior at room temperature, with relatively large polarization values. Specifically, the ferroelectric properties of one material show a strong dependency on the ambient humidity, whereas another showed a strong coupling between background conductivity and ferroelectric switching. These effects are not yet fully understood and lie beyond the scope of this study. Of the remaining two compounds, one was found to be unstable at room temperature whereas the other displayed multiple polymorphs, complicating reproducibility and limiting their practical potential. Overall, these results confirm the relevance of the data mining prediction scheme and suggest that a significant fraction of the identified but so far untested materials may also be ferroelectric. |
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| Item Description: | Gesehen am 08.05.2026 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1463-9084 |
| DOI: | 10.1039/D5CP03009A |