The First Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Luminescent Multiferroic: (Pyrrolidinium)MnBr3

Exploring Aqueous Solution-Processed Pseudohalide Rare-Earth Double Perovskite Ferroelectrics toward X-Ray Detection with High Sensitivity

Three-dimensional (3D) pseudohalide rare-earth double perovskites (PREDPs) have garnered significant attention for their versatile physical properties, including ferroelectricity, ferroelasticity, large piezoelectric responses, and circularly polarized luminescence. However, their potential for X-ray detection remains unexplored, and the low Curie temperature (TC) limits the performance window for PREDP ferroelectrics. Here, by applying the chemical regulation strategies involving halogen substitution on the organic cation and Rb/Cs substitution to the PREDP [(R)-M3HQ]2RbEu(NO3)6 [(R)-M3HQ=(R)-N-methyl-3-hydroxylquinuclidinium] with a low TC of 285 K, a novel 3D PREDP ferroelectric [(R)-CM3HQ]2CsEu(NO3)6 [(R)-CM3HQ=(R)-N-chloromethyl-3-hydroxylquinuclidinium] are successfully synthesized, for which the TC reaches 344 K. More importantly, such a strategy endowed [(R)-CM3HQ]2CsEu(NO3)6 with notable X-ray detection capabilities. Centimeter-sized [(R)-CM3HQ]2CsEu(NO3)6 single crystals fabricated from aqueous solutions demonstrated a sensitivity of 1307 μC Gyair -1 cm-2 and a low detectable dose rate of 152 nGyair s-1, the highest sensitivity reported for hybrid double perovskite ferroelectric detectors. This work positions PREDPs as promising candidates for the next generation of eco-friendly optoelectronic materials and also offers substantial insights into the interaction between structure, composition, and functionality in ferroelectric materials.

Strain-Induced Tunable Enhancement of Piezoelectricity in a Novel Molecular Multiferroic Material

Multiferroics are appealing because of application potentials in data storage devices, sensors, transducers, and energy harvesters. Molecular multiferroics emerge as a promising alternative to inorganic multiferroics due to flexibility, light weight, low toxicity, solution processing, structural diversity, and chemical tunability. While researches have predominantly focused on perovskite structures, studies on molecular ionic multiferroics remain relatively limited. It is urgent to creatively build a novel platform for studying and developing the coupling and interaction between the stress, electricity, and magnetism. Knowing this, the work focuses on a novel organic-inorganic hybrid multiferroic N-ethyl-N-(fluoromethyl)-N-methylethylammonium tetrabromoferrate (III) showing coexisting magnetic and electric orderings. It undergoes antiferromagnetic, ferroelectric, and ferroelastic transitions. Notably, under a strain of 2.0%, the piezoelectric response increases tenfold, and the coercive field of ferroelectric polarization is reduced by half. The strain-induced enhancement of piezoelectricity is rarely reported in molecular multiferroics. Density functional theory is employed to predict that the mechanism of the large piezoelectric response under strain engineering is related to the cation rotation and phase switching between the stable phase and an energetically competitive metastable phase. This study creates a new paradigm to develop molecular multiferroics and future microelectronic devices for energy conversion.

Structural Design of Hybrid Manganese(II) Halides for High Quantum Efficiency and Specific Response to Methanol

Manganese(II) halides have been a new generation of optoelectronic materials due to their fascinating luminescent properties, however, lacking specific solvent-responsive analogues with high quantum efficiency. Herein, we prepared three single crystals, [Pr(MIm)2][MnBr4] ([Pr(MIm)2]2+ = 1,3-di(methylimidazolium)-propane, Compound 1), [Pr(EIm)2][MnBr4] ([Pr(EIm)2]2+ = 1,3-di(ethylimidazolium)-propane, Compound 2), and [Bu(MIm)2][MnBr4] ([Bu(MIm)2]2+ = 1,4-di(methylimidazolium)-butane, Compound 3), where different Bola-type cations were chosen as organic components to separate [MnBr4]2- tetrahedrons. All three compounds emitted bright green light with excellent quantum yields of 95.3, 80.0, and 96.2%, benefiting from the large Mn···Mn distance. More interestingly, Compound 3 showed a highly selective response to methanol in a series of tested organic solvents, with a rapid and reversible change in emission color from green to red. The single crystal of [Bu(MIm)2][MnBr4]·CH3OH with red emission proved that the luminescence switching was attributed to the adsorption of CH3OH molecules into the lattice space in the form of the O-H···Br hydrogen bonds. To our knowledge, for tetrahedrally coordinated Mn(II) species, the reversible emission color switching between green and red triggered by a solvent without the change of coordination number is achieved for the first time, providing promising applications for the specific detection of methanol.

Suppressing Energy Migration via Antiparallel Spin Alignment in One-Dimensional Mn2+ Halide Magnets with High Luminescence Efficiency

Photoexcited energy migration is prone to causing luminescence quenching in Mn2+ luminescent materials, presenting a formidable challenge for optoelectronic applications. Although various strategies and mechanisms have been proposed to mitigate this issue, the role of spin alignment between adjacent Mn2+ ions has remained largely unexamined. In this study, we have elucidated the influence of spin alignment on energy migration within the one-dimensional Mn2+-metal halide compound (CH3)4NMnCl3 (TMMC) through variable-temperature photoluminescence (PL) and magnetic-optical spectroscopy. This investigation was conducted with reference to (CH6N3)2MnCl4 (GUA) with isolated [Mn3Cl12]6- trimers and Cd2+-doped TMMC. The spin order in TMMC below approximately 55 K is demonstrated by the disorder-order transition observed in the temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibility. This finding is further corroborated by the negligible shift in the temperature- and field-dependent emission peaks, a consequence of magnetic saturation. Our results indicate that the antiparallel spin alignment along the Mn2+ chain in TMMC effectively suppresses energy migration and multiphonon relaxation, thereby reducing nonradiative transitions and enhancing the photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY). This research casts new light on the potential for developing high-performance Mn2+-doped phosphors for optoelectronic and spin-photonic applications, offering insights into the manipulation of spin and energy dynamics in these materials.

High-temperature giant dielectric switching in an organic-inorganic hybrid material

With the increasing research on giant dielectric materials, there is growing interest in the development of switching materials with giant dielectric properties. In this study, a novel organic-inorganic hybrid material (Et3NC2H4Br)FeCl4 was synthesized. It was characterized through differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and in situ temperature-dependent powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), which determined its phase transition temperature (TC) to be 362 K. Temperature-dependent dielectric measurements revealed that the material exhibited switchable dielectric properties, with the real part of the dielectric constant exceeding 106 at 500 Hz and a dielectric switching ratio surpassing 103. The ratio refers to the ratio between the high dielectric state and the low dielectric state of a step-like dielectric anomaly. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD) analysis confirmed that the material crystallized in the P21/c space group with a zero-dimensional structure. The optical bandgap, determined through UV-visible spectroscopy, was calculated to be 2.62 eV. Additionally, analysis using Hirshfeld surfaces and 2D fingerprint plots revealed that the predominant intermolecular interactions are H⋯Cl and H⋯H interactions. This study is anticipated to provide insights and hope for the design and application of high-temperature giant dielectric switching materials.

Observation of piezoelectricity in a lead-free Cs2AgBiBr6 perovskite: a new entrant in the energy harvesting arena

Halide perovskite materials have recently been recognised as powerful ferroelectric and piezoelectric materials with applications in the energy harvesting arena, but their experimental proof is very limited. We achieved strong intrinsic piezoelectricity in the lead-free inorganic double perovskite Cs2AgBiBr6 at room temperature and utilized it for mechanical energy harvesting, with a piezoelectric co-efficient (d33) of 12.7 pC N-1. Hysteresis loop and structural analyses offered further validation for the substantial ferroelectric features of the as-synthesised double perovskite. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed the presence of anharmonic phonon soft modes in tetragonal Cs2AgBiBr6 due to dynamic instability, which resulted in piezoelectricity. Under an optimal pressure of ≈25 kPa, a Cs2AgBiBr6 thin film-based piezoelectric nanogenerator device delivered instantaneous output values of ≈45 V and ≈200 nA. The strain-sensitive responses of the device were also exemplified to identify specific body motions from the detected instantaneous output values. The energy obtained from the device is shown to be effective for capacitor charging and commercial light-emitting diode (LED) lighting. Our study provides significant insights into the dielectric behaviour of materials as well as piezo- and ferroelectric behaviours, which are crucial for the development of modern electronic and energy harvesting devices.

Highly Stable MOF-Type Lead Halide Luminescent Ferroelectrics

Lead halide molecular ferroelectrics represent an important class of luminescent ferroelectrics, distinguished by their high chemical and structural tunability, excellent processability and distinctive luminescent characteristics. However, their inherent instability, prone to decomposition upon exposure to moisture and light, hinders their broader ferroelectric applications. Herein, for the first time, we present a series of isoreticular metal-organic framework (MOF)-type lead halide luminescent ferroelectrics, demonstrating exceptional robustness under ambient conditions for at least 15 months and even when subjected to aqueous boiling conditions. Unlike conventional metal-oxo secondary building units (SBUs) in MOFs adopting highly centrosymmetric structure with limited structural distortion, our lead halide-based MOFs occupy structurally deformable [Pb2X]+ (X=Cl-/Br-/I-) SBUs that facilitate a c-axis-biased displacement of Pb2+ centers and substantially contribute to thermoinducible structural transformation. Importantly, this class of MOF-type lead halide ferroelectrics undergo ferroelectric-to-paraelectric phase transitions with remarkably high Curie temperature of up to 505 K, superior to most of molecular ferroelectrics. Moreover, the covalent bonding between phosphorescent organic component and the light-harvesting inorganic component achieves efficient spin-orbit coupling and intersystem crossing, resulting in long-lived afterglow emission. The compelling combination of high stability, ferroelectricity and afterglow emission exhibited by lead halide MOFs opens up many potential opportunities in energy-conversion applications.

Chiral multiferroicity in two-dimensional hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites

Chiral multiferroics offer remarkable capabilities for controlling quantum devices at multiple levels. However, these materials are rare due to the competing requirements of long-range orders and strict symmetry constraints. In this study, we present experimental evidence that the coexistence of ferroelectric, magnetic orders, and crystallographic chirality is achievable in hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites [(R/S)-β-methylphenethylamine]2CuCl4. By employing Landau symmetry mode analysis, we investigate the interplay between chirality and ferroic orders and propose a novel mechanism for chirality transfer in hybrid systems. This mechanism involves the coupling of non-chiral distortions, characterized by defining a pseudo-scalar quantity, ξ = p ⋅ r ( p represents the ferroelectric displacement vector and r denotes the ferro-rotational vector), which distinguishes between (R)- and (S)-chirality based on its sign. Moreover, the reversal of this descriptor's sign can be associated with coordinated transitions in ferroelectric distortions, Jahn-Teller antiferro-distortions, and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya vectors, indicating the mediating role of crystallographic chirality in magnetoelectric correlations.

The past 10 years of molecular ferroelectrics: structures, design, and properties

Ferroelectricity, which has diverse important applications such as memory elements, capacitors, and sensors, was first discovered in a molecular compound, Rochelle salt, in 1920 by Valasek. Owing to their superiorities of lightweight, biocompatibility, structural tunability, mechanical flexibility, etc., the past decade has witnessed the renaissance of molecular ferroelectrics as promising complementary materials to commercial inorganic ferroelectrics. Thus, on the 100th anniversary of ferroelectricity, it is an opportune time to look into the future, specifically into how to push the boundaries of material design in molecular ferroelectric systems and finally overcome the hurdles to their commercialization. Herein, we present a comprehensive and accessible review of the appealing development of molecular ferroelectrics over the past 10 years, with an emphasis on their structural diversity, chemical design, exceptional properties, and potential applications. We believe that it will inspire intense, combined research efforts to enrich the family of high-performance molecular ferroelectrics and attract widespread interest from physicists and chemists to better understand the structure-function relationships governing improved applied functional device engineering.

Nonlinear Optical Activity of a Chiral Organic-Inorganic ([(NH3CH2CH2)3NH])2[MnBr5]Br5 Photoluminescent and Piezoelectric Crystal

The family of Mn-based organic-inorganic hybrids has greatly expanded due to their advantages in applications. They also show superior bright and size-tunable photoluminescence and can be considered a perfect alternative to toxic lead-based compounds. In this work, we present the detailed structural, optical, and electrical characterization of ([(NH3CH2CH2)3NH])2[MnBr5]Br5. The title compound exhibits a unique type of inorganic arrangement created by the trigonal bipyramids. It crystallizes in noncentrosymmetric space group R32, indicating its optical activity, piezoelectricity, and second-order optical nonlinearity proven by the second harmonic of light measurements. The studied crystals exhibit intense photoluminescence originating from the Mn(II) ion 4T1(G) → 6A1 transition. The measured lifetime of the photoluminescence emission is ≤1.5 ms, while the measured quantum yield for both powder and crystal samples reaches ∼70%.

Optical Phenomena in Molecule-Based Magnetic Materials

Since the last century, we have witnessed the development of molecular magnetism which deals with magnetic materials based on molecular species, i.e., organic radicals and metal complexes. Among them, the broadest attention was devoted to molecule-based ferro-/ferrimagnets, spin transition materials, including those exploring electron transfer, molecular nanomagnets, such as single-molecule magnets (SMMs), molecular qubits, and stimuli-responsive magnetic materials. Their physical properties open the application horizons in sensors, data storage, spintronics, and quantum computation. It was found that various optical phenomena, such as thermochromism, photoswitching of magnetic and optical characteristics, luminescence, nonlinear optical and chiroptical effects, as well as optical responsivity to external stimuli, can be implemented into molecule-based magnetic materials. Moreover, the fruitful interactions of these optical effects with magnetism in molecule-based materials can provide new physical cross-effects and multifunctionality, enriching the applications in optical, electronic, and magnetic devices. This Review aims to show the scope of optical phenomena generated in molecule-based magnetic materials, including the recent advances in such areas as high-temperature photomagnetism, optical thermometry utilizing SMMs, optical addressability of molecular qubits, magneto-chiral dichroism, and opto-magneto-electric multifunctionality. These findings are discussed in the context of the types of optical phenomena accessible for various classes of molecule-based magnetic materials.

Three-Step Ferroelastic Transitions from Hexagonal to Triclinic Phases in a Hybrid Perovskite: (1-Fluoromethyl-1-methylpyrrolidine)[CdCl3]

Hybrid ferroelastic crystals have emerged as a hot research topic in recent years owing to their prospective applications in piezoelectric sensors, mechanical switches, and optoelectronic devices. Nevertheless, most of the documented materials exhibit one-step or two-step ferroelastic phase transition(s), and those with multistep ferroelastic transitions are extremely scarce. We present a new hexagonal molecular perovskite based on a fluoro-substituted flexible cyclic ammonium cation, (1-fluoromethyl-1-methylpyrrolidine)[CdCl3] (1), undergoing unusual three-step ferroelastic phase transitions from hexagonal paraelastic phase to orthorhombic, monoclinic, and triclinic ferroelastic phases at 388, 376, and 311 K, respectively, with Aizu notation of 6/mmmFmmm, mmmF2/m, and 2/mF-1, featuring spontaneous strain of 0.002, 0.023, and 0.110, respectively. Furthermore, variable-temperature single-crystal diffraction reveals that the phase-transition mechanism in 1 principally originates from intriguing dynamic change of organic cations and synchronous displacement of inorganic chains. This scarce instance of multistep hybrid ferroelastic provides important clues for finding advanced ferroelastic materials.

Circularly polarized luminescence in quantum dot-based materials

Quantum dots (QDs) have emerged as fantastic luminescent nanomaterials with significant potential due to their unique photoluminescence properties. With the rapid development of circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) materials, many researchers have associated QDs with the CPL property, resulting in numerous novel CPL-active QD-containing materials in recent years. The present work reviews the latest advances in CPL-active QD-based materials, which are classified based on the types of QDs, including perovskite QDs, carbon dots, and colloidal semiconductor QDs. The applications of CPL-active QD-based materials in biological, optoelectronic, and anti-counterfeiting fields are also discussed. Additionally, the current challenges and future perspectives in this field are summarized. This review article is expected to stimulate more unprecedented achievements based on CPL-active QD-based materials, thus further promoting their future practical applications.

Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Ferroelectric and Antiferroelectric with Afterglow Emission

Luminescent ferroelectrics are holding exciting prospect for integrated photoelectronic devices due to potential light-polarization interactions at electron scale. Integrating ferroelectricity and long-lived afterglow emission in a single material would offer new possibilities for fundamental research and applications, however, related reports have been a blank to date. For the first time, we here achieved the combination of notable ferroelectricity and afterglow emission in an organic-inorganic hybrid material. Remarkably, the presented (4-methylpiperidium)CdCl3 also shows noticeable antiferroelectric behavior. The implementation of cationic customization and halogen engineering not only enables a dramatic enhancement of Curie temperature of 114.4 K but also brings a record longest emission lifetime up to 117.11 ms under ambient conditions, realizing a leapfrog improvement of at least two orders of magnitude compared to reported hybrid ferroelectrics so far. This finding would herald the emergence of novel application potential, such as multi-level density data storage or multifunctional sensors, towards the future integrated optoelectronic devices with multitasking capabilities.

Ferroics in Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Perovskites: Fundamentals, Design Strategies, and Implementation

Hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites (HOIPs) afford highly versatile structure design and lattice dimensionalities; thus, they are actively researched as material platforms for the tailoring of ferroic behaviors. Unlike single-phase organic or inorganic materials, the interlayer coupling between organic and inorganic components in HOIPs allows the modification of strain and symmetry by chirality transfer or lattice distortion, thereby enabling the coexistence of ferroic orders. This review focuses on the principles for engineering one or multiple ferroic orders in HOIPs, and the conditions for achieving multiferroicity and magnetoelectric properties. The prospects of multilevel ferroic modulation, chiral spin textures, and spin orbitronics in HOIPs are also presented.

Organic-Inorganic Rare-Earth Double Perovskite Ferroelectric with Large Piezoelectric Response and Ferroelasticity for Flexible Composite Energy Harvesters

Hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite (HOIP) ferroelectric materials have great potential for developing self-powered electronic transducers owing to their impressive piezoelectric performance, structural tunability and low processing temperatures. Nevertheless, their inherent brittle and low elastic moduli limit their application in electromechanical conversion. Integration of HOIP ferroelectrics and soft polymers is a promising solution. In this work, a hybrid organic-inorganic rare-earth double perovskite ferroelectric, [RM3HQ]2RbPr(NO3)6 (RM3HQ = (R)-N-methyl-3-hydroxylquinuclidinium) is presented, which possesses multiaxial nature, ferroelasticity and satisfactory piezoelectric properties, including piezoelectric charge coefficient (d33) of 102.3 pC N-1 and piezoelectric voltage coefficient (g33) of 680 × 10-3 V m N-1. The piezoelectric generators (PEG) based on composite films of [RM3HQ]2RbPr(NO3)6@polyurethane (PU) can generate an open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 30 V and short-circuit current (Isc) of 18 µA, representing one of the state-of-the-art PEGs to date. This work has promoted the exploration of new HOIP ferroelectrics and their development of applications in electromechanical conversion devices.

SHG-active luminescent thermometers based on chiral cyclometalated dicyanidoiridate(iii) complexes

Multifunctional optical materials can be realized by combining stimuli-responsive photoluminescence (PL), e.g., optical thermometry, with non-linear optical (NLO) effects, such as second-harmonic generation (SHG). We report a novel approach towards SHG-active luminescent thermometers achieved by constructing unique iridium(iii) complexes, cis-[IrIII(CN)2(R,R-pinppy)2]- (R,R-pinppy = (R,R)-2-phenyl-4,5-pinenopyridine), bearing both a chiral 2-phenylpyridine derivative and cyanido ligands, the latter enabling the formation of a series of molecular materials: (TBA)[IrIII(CN)2(R,R-pinppy)2]·2MeCN (1) (TBA+ = tetrabutylammonium) and (nBu-DABCO)2[IrIII(CN)2(R,R-pinppy)2](i)·MeCN (2) (nBu-DABCO+ = 1-(n-butyl)-1,4-diazabicyclo-[2.2.2]octan-1-ium) hybrid salts, (TBA)2{[LaIII(NO3)3(H2O)0.5]2[IrIII(CN)2(R,R-pinppy)2]2} (3) square molecules, and {[LaIII(NO3)2(dmf)3][IrIII(CN)2(R,R-pinppy)2]}·MeCN (4) coordination chains. Thanks to the chiral pinene group, 1-4 crystallize in non-centrosymmetric space groups leading to SHG activity, while the N,C-coordination of ppy-type ligands to Ir(iii) centers generates visible charge-transfer (CT) photoluminescence. The PL characteristics are distinctly temperature-dependent which was utilized in achieving ratiometric optical thermometry below 220 K. The PL phenomena were rationalized by DFT/TD-DFT calculations indicating an MLCT-type of the emission in obtained Ir(iii) complexes with the rich vibronic structure providing a few emission bands that variously depend on temperature due to the role of thermally activated vibrations. As these crucial vibrational modes depend on the crystal lattice, the thermometry performance differs within 1-4 being the most efficient in 4 while the SHG is by far the best also for 4. This proves that pinene-functionalized cyclometalated dicyanidoiridates(iii) are great prerequisites for tunable PL-NLO conjunction with the most effective multifunctionality ensured by the insertion of these anions into bimetallic frameworks.

Optical and scintillation properties of hybrid manganese(II) bromides with formamidinium and acetamidinium cations

In recent years, hybrid manganese(II) halides (HMHs) have attracted wide attention due to their impressive optical properties, low toxicity, and facile synthetic processibility. Being effective reabsorption-free phosphors, these compounds demonstrate the potential to be used as low-cost solution-processable scintillators. However, most of the HMHs studied to date contain bulk organic cations and, as a result, are characterized by low density and low X-ray stopping power. For this reason, we studied manganese(II) bromides with compact organic cations such as formamidinium (FA+) and acetamidinium (AcA+). In particular, we synthesized four new phases, two of which are characterized by octahedral coordination of manganese ions ((FA)MnBr3 and (AcA)MnBr3) and red emission, whereas the other two have tetrahedrally coordinated Mn2+ ions ((FA)3MnBr5 and (AcA)2MnBr4) and green emission. Photoluminescence (PL) and radioluminescence measurements demonstrated high PL quantum yields and reasonable scintillation light yields of acetamidinium-based compounds. In addition, unlike most known HMH-based scintillators, the discovered materials have a relatively high density due to the small fraction of the volume occupied by organic cations, so their X-ray attenuation coefficients are comparable to the well-known oxide scintillators.

Ferroelectricity and Related Properties of Nitratecadmate(II) Hybrid with Metal-Vacancy

All crystals are not ideal, and many of their properties are often determined not by the regular arrangement of atoms, but by the irregular arrangement of crystal defects. Many properties of materials can be controlled effectively by proper use of solid defects. By substitution of NH4 + ion of a hexagonal perovskite structure (H2 dabco)(NH4 )(NO3 )3 (dabco=1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane, 1) with Cd2+ ion, we obtained a new metal-vacancy compound (H2 dabco)2 Cd(H2 O)2 (NO3 )6 (2). It exhibits a ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition at 261 K. A comparison of the various-temperature single-crystal structures indicates that the coordination twist of Cd2+ ion leads to instability of the lattices and excellent ferroelectricity. These findings reveal that the vacancy can be utilized as an element to produce ferroelectricity and may start the chemistry of metal-vacancy coordination compounds. These findings reveals that the vacancy can be utilized as an effective means to tune the symmetry and produce ferroelectricity.

A Metal-Free Molecular Ferroelectric [4-Me-cyclohexylamine]ClO4 Introduced by Boat and Chair Conformations of Cyclohexylamine

Organic ferroelectrics have received a great deal of interest due to their exclusive properties. However, organic ferroelectrics have not been fully explored, which hinders their practical application. Here, we presented a novel metal-free organic molecular ferroelectric [4-MCHA][ClO4 ] (1) (4-MCHA=trans-4-methylcyclohexylamine), which exhibits an above-room-temperature of 328 K. Strikingly, the single crystal structure analysis of 1 shows that the driving force of phase transition is related to the interesting chair-boat conformation change of 4-MCHA cation, in addition to the order-disorder transition of ClO4 - anion. Using piezoelectric response force microscopy (PFM), the presence of domains and the implemented polarization switching were clearly observed, which explicitly determined the presence of room-temperature ferroelectricity of 1. As far as we know, the ferroelectric phase transition mechanism attributed to the conformational change in a trans isomeric cation is very rare. This research enriched the path of designing ferroelectric materials and smart materials.

Temperature-Induced Reversible Photoluminescence Switching and Ultraviolet-Pumped Light-Emitting Diode Applications of a Perovskite (C6H10N2)2MnCl6·2H2O Crystal

Zero-dimensional (0D) organic-inorganic hybrid halides present many fascinating photophysical properties for promising optoelectronic applications such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs), X-ray imaging, photodetectors, and anticounterfeiting. Herein, a centimeter-sized single crystal (C6H10N2)2MnCl6·2H2O with a 0D perovskite structure was obtained via a solvent evaporation method. A bright red emission at 618 nm with a larger Stokes shift of more than 300 nm and a long fluorescence lifetime of 6.21 ms were measured. Notably, a reversible PL switching from red emission to nonluminescence has been presented in the cycles of heating-cooling processes from RT to 100 °C. Furthermore, the temperature-induced luminescence shows a quick recovery after 20 conversion cycles, exhibiting excellent stability and temperature sensing. According to the structural and theoretical analyses, the temperature-induced luminescence is primarily due to hydrogen-bonding interactions between (MnCl6)4- and H2O molecules. Particularly, a temperature anticounterfeiting application has been designed based on its reversible temperature-dependent PL switching. Importantly, the ultraviolet-pumped LEDs fabricated by (C6H10N2)2MnCl6·2H2O single crystals are perfectly achieved. Anyway, this work clearly demonstrates that 0D Mn-based perovskite with temperature-dependent PL switching greatly extends its potential applications in electro-optical display, temperature sensing, and anticounterfeiting devices.

Antimony-Triggered Tunable White Light Emission in Lead-Free Zero-Dimensional Indium Halide with Ultrastable CCT of White Light Emitting Diodes

A highly efficient and easily tunable luminescence is significant for solid-state luminescent (SSL) materials. However, achieving a photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) close to unity and tuning the emission remain challenging tasks. Metal doping strategies enable resolution of these issues. Herein, we report the preparation of a novel organic-inorganic lead-free indium-based metal halide hybrid (MP)3InCl6•EtOH (MP = C4H10ON) with a typical zero-dimension structure. When excited at 320 nm, (MP)3InCl6•EtOH exhibits a dual emission band at 420 and 600 nm, which originates from the organic cation [MP] and the [InCl6]3- octahedral unit. The photoluminescence can be significantly enhanced through Sb3+ doping, resulting in an increase in PLQY from 0.78% to near unity. Multiple emission color tunings have been achieved by regulating the Sb doping level and the radiation wavelength, resulting in a change in emission color from blue → white → orange. Optical characterizations reveal that the significantly enhanced emission centered at 600 nm can be attributed to more efficient absorption, closely associated with an additional 1S0 → 3P1 transition in the inorganic octahedron [In(Sb)Cl6]3- due to Sb3+ doping. With its excellent optical performance, a white light emitting diode (WLED) has been successfully fabricated by coating the mixture of (MP)3InCl6•EtOH:15%Sb3+ with blue phosphor BaMgAl10O17:Eu2+ onto a UV LED chip. The WLED device exhibits perfect white light emission with regard to the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) coordinates of (0.36, 0.34). Significantly, the WLED device maintains a stable correlated color temperature (CCT) range of 4119-4393 K and CIE coordinates (x: 0.37-0.34, y: 0.35-0.33) as the driven current varies from 20 to 200 mA, demonstrating outstanding stability across different power levels. This work not only presents a novel system for achieving remarkably enhanced luminescent performance and tuning emission bands in 0D metal halides but also represents a significant step toward achieving resistance to color drifting for stable WLEDs.

Exceptional structural phase transition near room temperature in an organic-inorganic hybrid ferroelectric

An organic-inorganic hybrid ferroelectric, (C6H5CH2CH2NH3)2[HgI4], undergoes an exceptional structural phase transition near room temperature, triggered by a flip of half the organic cations and an order-disorder transition of the inorganic anions, and may be regarded as a displacive-type ferroelectric. This finding provides a new structural phase transition mechanism in molecule-based ferroelectrics.

Zero-Dimensional Sn-Based Enantiomeric Phase-Transition Materials with High-Tc and Dielectric Switching

The combination of chirality and phase-transition materials has broad application prospects. Therefore, based on the quasi-spherical theory and the thought strategy of introducing chirality, we have successfully synthesized a pair of chiral enantiomeric ligands (R/S)-triethyl-(2-hydroxypropyl)ammonium iodide, which can be combined with a tin hexachloride anion to obtain a pair of new organic-inorganic hybrid enantiomeric high-temperature plastic phase-transition materials: (R/S)-[CH3 CH(OH)CH2 N(CH2 CH3 )3 ]2 SnCl6 (1-R/1-S), which have a high temperature phase transition of Tc =384 K, crystallize in the P21 chiral space group at room temperature, and have obvious CD signals. In addition, compounds 1-R and 1-S have a good low-loss dielectric switch and broadband gap. This work is conducive to the research into chiral high-temperature reversible plastic phase-transition materials, and promotes the development of multi-functional phase-transition materials.

Synchronous Switching of Dielectric Constant and Photoluminescence in Cyanidonitridorhenate-Based Crystals

Switching of multiple physical properties by external stimuli in dynamic materials enables applications in, e.g., smart sensors, biomedical tools, as well as data-storage devices. Among stimuli-responsive materials, inorganic-organic molecular hybrids exhibiting thermal order-disorder phase transitions were tested as promising molecular switches of electrical characteristics, including dielectric constant. We aimed at broadening the multifunctional potential of such hybrid materials towards the switching of not only electrical but also other physical properties, e.g., light emission. We report two ionic salts based on luminescent tetracyanidonitridorhenate(V) anions bearing two different diamine ligands, 1,2-diaminoethane (1) and 1,3-diaminopropane (2), both crystallizing with polar N-methyl-dabconium cations. They exhibit an order-disorder phase transition related to the heating-induced turning-on of the rotation of polar cations. This leads to a unique synchronous switching of the dielectric constant as well as metal-complex-centered photoluminescence, as demonstrated by changes in, e.g., emission lifetime. The roles of organic cations, non-trivial Re(V) complexes, and their interaction in achieving the coupled thermal switching of electrical and optical properties are discussed utilizing experimental and theoretical approaches.

Soft Human-Machine Interface Sensing Displays: Materials and Devices

The development of human-interactive sensing displays (HISDs) that simultaneously detect and visualize stimuli is important for numerous cutting-edge human-machine interface technologies. Therefore, innovative device platforms with optimized architectures of HISDs combined with novel high-performance sensing and display materials are demonstrated. This study comprehensively reviews the recent advances in HISDs, particularly the device architectures that enable scaling-down and simplifying the HISD, as well as material designs capable of directly visualizing input information received by various sensors. Various HISD platforms for integrating sensors and displays are described. HISDs consist of a sensor and display connected through a microprocessor, and attempts to assemble the two devices by eliminating the microprocessor are detailed. Single-device HISD technologies are highlighted in which input stimuli acquired by sensory components are directly visualized with various optical components, such as electroluminescence, mechanoluminescence and structural color. The review forecasts future HISD technologies that demand the development of materials with molecular-level synthetic precision that enables simultaneous sensing and visualization. Furthermore, emerging HISDs combined with artificial intelligence technologies and those enabling simultaneous detection and visualization of extrasensory information are discussed.

Crystal Sponge Behavior in a Two-Dimensional Rare-Earth Hybrid Coordinate Polymer

Stimuli-responsive multifunctional materials (SRMMs) have attracted tremendous attention due to their dynamic responses to external stimuli. However, it remains challenging to simultaneously achieve solvent-induced single-crystal to single-crystal (SCSC) transformation and structural phase transition after desolvation. Here, we report a two-dimensional (2D) rare-earth organic-inorganic hybrid coordinate polymer [(CH3)3NCH2Cl]2[Eu·H2O]2[CH2(SO3)2]4·2H2O (1) that exhibits a reversible SCSC transformation by changing to 2 ([(CH3)3NCH2Cl][Eu·H2O][CH2(SO3)2]2). Impressively, the SCSC transformation process couples with large changes in quantum efficiency dropped from 33.68% of 1 to 20.07% that of 2. Furthermore, polymer 2 shows an isomorphic structural phase transition associated with switching dielectric. Notably, the distance of the 2D layers shows reversible change during the two successive transition processes displaying a crystal sponge behavior. This work reveals the potential of rare-earth 2D hybrid coordination polymers in the design of multifunctional responsive materials and opens a new prospect to explore the construction of novel SRMMs.

Electron Spin Decoherence Dynamics in Magnetic Manganese Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Crystals: The Effect of Lattice Dimensionality

Organic-inorganic metal hybrids with their tailorable lattice dimensionality and intrinsic spin-splitting properties are interesting material platforms for spintronic applications. While the spin decoherence process is extensively studied in lead- and tin-based hybrids, these systems generally show short spin decoherence lifetimes, and their correlation with the lattice framework is still not well-understood. Herein, we synthesized magnetic manganese hybrid single crystals of (4-fluorobenzylamine)2MnCl4, ((R)-3-fluoropyrrolidinium)MnCl3, and (pyrrolidinium)2MnCl4, which represent a change in lattice dimensionality from 2D and 1D to 0D, and studied their spin decoherence processes using continuous-wave electron spin resonance spectroscopy. All manganese hybrids exhibit nanosecond-scale spin decoherence time τ2 dominated by the symmetry-directed spin exchange interaction strengths of Mn2+-Mn2+ pairs, which is much longer than lead- and tin-based metal hybrids. In contrast to the similar temperature variation laws of τ2 in 2D and 0D structures, which first increase and gradually drop afterward, the 1D structure presents a monotonous rise of τ2 with the temperatures, indicating the strong correlation of spin decoherence with the lattice rigidity of the inorganic framework. This is also rationalized on the basis that the spin decoherence is governed by the competitive contributions from motional narrowing (prolonging the τ2) and electron-phonon coupling interaction (shortening the τ2), both of which are thermally activated, with the difference that the former is more pronounced in rigid crystalline lattices.

Reversible structural transformations and color-tunable emissions in organic manganese halides

Herein, we for the first time report a reversible conversion between green-emissive [DMPZ]MnCl4 and red-emissive [DMPZ]4(MnCl6)(MnCl4)2·(H2O)2 (DMPZ = 1,4-dimethylpiperazine) using kinetic and thermodynamic controlling strategies. Significantly, the synchronous structural and emission transformations in single-component organic manganese halides with adjustable emission colors are highlighted.

Synthesis, crystal structure and phase transitions of novel hybrid perovskite: bis(1,2-diaminopropane) di-μ-chloro-bis[diaquadichloromanganate(II)] dichloride

Single crystals of bis(1,2-diaminepropane) di-μ-chloro-bis[diaquadichloromanganate(II)] dichloride have been prepared by evaporation from ethanoic solution. The triclinic X-ray crystal structure is built as layers of centrosymmetric dimers of [Mn(Cl)4(H2O)2]2- octahedra and 1,2-diaminopropane. The inorganic part consists of Mn octahedra sharing one edge and distributed in the basal ac plane along the a direction. These doubly negative charged layers are separated along the b axis by a positively charged diamine propane layer. One Cl- anion contributes to the electroneutrality of the crystal interacting with both inorganic - through a hydrogen bond network to the two water molecules coordinated to Mn - and organic layers via the NH3+ ammonium group. Differential scanning calorimetry shows two endothermic main peaks at T = 366 K and T = 375 K related to the release of the water molecules. The resulting dehydrated material is C-centered monoclinic as shown by powder X-ray diffraction.

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)₂MnCl₄ (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 P1̄ (centrosymmetric) to P1 (non-centrosymmetric). This work will enrich multifunctional luminescent ferroelectric materials and their application in display and sensing.

Enhanced stability and complex phase behaviour of organic-inorganic green-emitting ionic manganese halides

Light-emitting materials based on earth-abundant metals, such as manganese hold great promise as emitters for organic lighting devices. In order to apply such emitter materials and, in particular, to overcome the problem of self-quenching due to cross-relaxation, we investigated a series of tetrabromidomanganate ([MnBr₄]^2-) salts with bulky tetraalkylphosphonium counter cations [P_nnn]⁺, namely [P_nnnn]₂[MnBr₄] (n = 4 (1), 6 (2) and 8 (3)), which can be obtained by a straightforward reaction of the respective phosphonium bromide and MnBr₂. Variation of the cation size allows control of the properties of the resulting ionic materials. 1 and 3 qualify as ionic liquids (ILs), where 1 features a melting point of 68 °C, and 3 is liquid at room temperature and even at very low temperatures. Furthermore, 1 and 2 show the formation of higher-ordered thermotropic mesophases. For 1 a transition to a thermodynamically metastable smectic liquid crystalline phase can be observed at room temperature upon reheating from the metastable glassy state; 2 appears to form a plastic crystalline phase at ∼63 °C, which persists up to the melting point of 235 °C. The photoemission is greatly affected by phase behaviour and ion dynamics. A photoluminescence quantum yield of 61% could be achieved, by balancing the increase in Mn²⁺-Mn²⁺ separation and reducing self-quenching through increasingly large organic cations which leads to adverse increased vibrational quenching. Compared to analogous ammonium compounds, which have been promoted as ̈inorganic hybrid perovskites̈, the phosphonium salts show superior performance, with respect to photoluminescent quantum yield and thermal and air/humidity stability. As the presented compounds are not sensitive to the atmosphere, in particular moisture, and show strong visible electroluminescence in the green region of light, they are important emitter materials for use in organic light-emitting devices.

Halogen Bond Induced Structural and Photophysical Properties Modification in Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Manganese Halides

The role of halogen bonding in organic-inorganic hybrid (OIH) halides was seldom investigated despite its potential to enhance the stability of the compound. In this context, we have synthesized (2-methylbenzimidazolium)MnCl₃(H₂O)·H₂O (compound 1) crystallizing in a monoclinic space group P2₁/c with a 1D infinite chain of edge shared Mn octahedra. In contrast, the chloro-substituted derivative (5-chloro-2-methylbenzimidazolium)₂MnCl₄ (compound 2) exhibits 0D Mn tetrahedra with a triclinic P1̅ structure. This structural modification from 1D Mn octahedra to 0D Mn tetrahedra involves a unique type-II halogen bonding between organic chlorine (C-Cl) and inorganic chloride (Cl-Mn) ions. Compound 1 exhibits red emission, whereas compound 2 demonstrates dual-band emission, resulting from energy transfer from the organic amine to Mn centers. To rationalize this interesting modulation in structure and photophysical properties, the role of halogen bonding is explored in terms of quantitative electron density analysis and intermolecular interaction energies.

Emerging Halide Perovskite Ferroelectrics

Halide perovskites have gained tremendous attention in the past decade owing to their excellent properties in optoelectronics. Recently, a fascinating property, ferroelectricity, has been discovered in halide perovskites and quickly attracted widespread interest. Compared with traditional perovskite oxide ferroelectrics, halide perovskites display natural advantages such as structural softness, low weight, and easy processing, which are highly desirable in applications pursuing miniaturization and flexibility. This review focuses on the current research progress in halide perovskite ferroelectrics, encompassing the emerging materials systems and their potential applications in ferroelectric photovoltaics, self-powered photodetection, and X-ray detection. The main challenges and possible solutions in the future development of halide perovskite ferroelectric materials are also attempted to be pointed out.

Recent Advances in Ferroelectric-Enhanced Low-Dimensional Optoelectronic Devices

Ferroelectric (FE) materials, including BiFeO₃ , P(VDF-TrFE), and CuInP₂ S₆ , are a type of dielectric material with a unique, spontaneous electric polarization that can be reversed by applying an external electric field. The combination of FE and low-dimensional materials produces synergies, sparking significant research interest in solar cells, photodetectors (PDs), nonvolatile memory, and so on. The fundamental aspects of FE materials, including the origin of FE polarization, extrinsic FE materials, and FE polarization quantification are first discussed. Next, the state-of-the-art of FE-based optoelectronic devices is focused. How FE materials affect the energy band of channel materials and how device structures influence PD performance are also summarized. Finally, the future directions of this rapidly growing field are discussed.

Luminescence Enhancement of CsMnBr3 Nanocrystals through Heterometallic Doping

The absorption and photoluminescence (PL) of CsMnBr₃ with Mn(II) in octahedral crystal fields are extremely weak due to a d-d forbidden transition. Herein, we introduce a facile and general synthetic procedure that can prepare undoped and heterometallic doped CsMnBr₃ NCs at room temperature. Importantly, both PL and absorption of CsMnBr₃ NCs were significantly improved after doping a small amount of Pb²⁺ (4.9%). The absolute photoluminescence quantum yield (PL QY) of Pb-doped CsMnBr₃ NCs is up to 41.5%, 11-fold higher than undoped CsMnBr₃ NCs (3.7%). The PL enhancement is attributed to the synergistic effects between [MnBr₆]^4- units and [PbBr₆]^4- units. Furthermore, we verified the similar synergistic effects between [MnBr₆]^4- units and [SbBr₆]^4- units in Sb-doped CsMnBr₃ NCs. Our results highlight the potential of tailoring luminescence properties of manganese halides through heterometallic doping.

Elucidating Structure-Property Correlation in Perovskitoid and Antiperovskite Piperidinium Manganese Chloride

In the world of semiconductors, organic-inorganic hybrid (OIH) halide perovskite is a new paradigm. Recently, a zealous effort has been made to design new lead-free perovskite-like OIH halides, such as perovskitoids and antiperovskites, for optoelectronic applications. In this context, we have synthesized a perovskitoid compound (Piperidinium)MnCl₃ (compound 1) crystallizing in an orthorhombic structure with infinite one-dimensional (1D) chains of MnCl₆ octahedra. Interestingly, this compound shows switchable dielectric property governed by an order-disorder structural transition. By controlling the stoichiometry of piperidine, we have synthesized an antiperovskite (Piperidinium)₃Cl[MnCl₄] (compound 2), the inverse analogue of a perovskite, consisting of zero-dimensional (0D) MnCl₄ tetrahedra. This type of organic-inorganic hybrid antiperovskite halide is unique and scarce. Such a dissimilarity in lattice dimensionality and Mn²⁺ ion coordination ensues fascinating photophysical and magnetic properties. Compound 1 exhibits red emission with a photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of ∼28%. On the other hand, the 0D antiperovskite compound 2 displays green emission with a higher PLQY of 54.5%, thanks to the confinement effect. In addition, the dimensionality of the compounds plays a vital role in the exchange interaction. As a result, compound 1 shows an antiferromagnetic ground state, whereas compound 2 is paramagnetic down to 1.8 K. This emerging structure-property relationship in OIH manganese halides will set the platform for designing new perovskites and antiperovskites.

A nickel(ii)-based one-dimensional organic-inorganic halide perovskite ferroelectric with the highest Curie temperature

Organic-inorganic halide perovskites (OIHPs) are very eye-catching due to their chemical tunability and rich physical properties such as ferroelectricity, magnetism, photovoltaic properties and photoluminescence. However, no nickel-based OIHP ferroelectrics have been reported so far. Here, we designed an ABX3 OIHP ferroelectric (3-pyrrolinium)NiCl3, where the 3-pyrrolinium cations are located on the voids surrounded by one-dimensional chains composed of NiCl6-face-sharing octahedra via hydrogen bonding interactions. Such a unique structure enables the (3-pyrrolinium)NiCl3 with a high spontaneous polarization (P s) of 5.8 μC cm-2 and a high Curie temperature (T c) of 428 K, realizing dramatic enhancement of 112 and 52 K compared to its isostructural (3-pyrrolinium)MCl3 (M = Cd, Mn). To our knowledge, remarkably, (3-pyrrolinium)NiCl3 should be the first case of nickel(ii)-based OIHP ferroelectric to date, and its T c of 428 K (35 K above that of BaTiO3) is the highest among all reported one-dimensional OIHP ferroelectrics. This work offers a new structural building block for enriching the family of OIHP structures and will inspire the further exploration of new nickel(ii)-based OIHP ferroelectrics.

Metal-Organic Framework Optical Thermometer Based on Cr3+ Ion Luminescence

Metal-organic frameworks with perovskite structures have recently attracted increasing attention due to their structural, optical, and phonon properties. Herein, we report the structural and luminescence studies of a series of six heterometallic perovskite-type metal-organic frameworks with the general formula [EA]₂NaCr_xAl_1-x(HCOO)₆, where x = 1, 0.78, 0.57, 0.30, 0.21, and 0. The diffuse reflectance spectral analysis provided valuable information, particularly on crystal field strength (Dq/B) and energy band gap (E_g). We showed that the Dq/B varies in the 2.33-2.76 range depending on the composition of the sample. Performed Raman, XRD, and lifetime decay analyses provided information on the relationship between those parameters and the chemical composition. We also performed the temperature-dependent luminescence studies within the 80-400 K range, which was the first attempt to use an organic-inorganic framework luminescence thermometer based solely on the luminescence of Cr³⁺ ions. The results showed a strong correlation between the surrounding temperature, composition, and spectroscopic properties, allowing one to design a temperature sensing model. The temperature-dependent luminescence of the Cr³⁺ ions makes the investigated materials promising candidates for noncontact thermometers.

Facile Synthesis of Highly Emissive All-Inorganic Manganese Bromide Compounds with Perovskite-Related Structures for White LEDs

Lead-free all-inorganic halide materials with different Mn²⁺-based crystal structures (Cs₃MnBr₅ and CsMnBr₃) were obtained using a convenient synthetic method. Cs₃MnBr₅ had a bright green emission (522 nm), with a unique single-exponential lifetime (τ_avg = 236 µs) and a high photoluminescence quantum yield (82 ± 5%). A red emission was observed in the case of the CsMnBr₃ structure with a two-exponential fluorescence decay curve, and the lifetime was 1.418 µs (93%) and 18.328 µs (7%), respectively. By a judicious tuning of the synthetic conditions, a mixed phase of Cs₃MnBr₅/CsMnBr₃ was also produced that emitted white light, covering almost the entire visible spectrum. White-light-emitting diodes (WLEDs) with color coordinates (0.4269, 0.4955), a color temperature of (3773 K), and a color rendering index (68) were then fabricated using the as-prepared powder of mixed phases of Cs₃MnBr₅/CsMnBr₃ with a commercial UV LED chip (365 nm).

Ferroelectric hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites and their structural and functional diversity

Molecular ferroelectrics have gradually aroused great interest in both fundamental scientific research and technological applications because of their easy processing, light weight and mechanical flexibility. Hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite ferroelectrics (HOIPFs), as a class of molecule-based ferroelectrics, have diverse functionalities owing to their unique structure and have become a hot spot in molecular ferroelectrics research. Therefore, they are extremely attractive in the field of ferroelectrics. However, there seems to be a lack of systematic review of their design, performance and potential applications. Herein, we review the recent development of HOIPFs from lead-based, lead-free and metal-free perovskites, and outline the versatility of these ferroelectrics, including piezoelectricity for mechanical energy-harvesting and optoelectronic properties for photovoltaics and light detection. Furthermore, a perspective view of the challenges and future directions of HOIPFs is also highlighted.

Electron-Phonon Coupling Mediated Self-Trapped-Exciton Emission and Internal Quantum Confinement in Highly Luminescent Zero-Dimensional (Guanidinium)6Mn3X12 (X = Cl and Br)

We report a large Stokes shift and broad emission band in a Mn-based organic-inorganic hybrid halide, (guanidinium)₆Mn₃Br₁₂ [GuMBr], consisting of trimeric units of distorted MnBr₆ octahedra representing a zero-dimensional compound with a liquid like crystalline lattice. Analysis of the photoluminescence (PL) line width and Raman spectra reveals the effects of electron-phonon coupling, suggestive of the formation of Frenkel-like bound excitons. These bound excitons, regarded as the self-trapped excitons (STEs), account for the large Stokes shift and broad emission band. The excited-state dynamics was studied using femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy, which confirms the STE emission. Further, this compound is highly emissive with a PL quantum yield of ∼50%. With chloride ion incorporation, we observe enhancement of the emissive properties and attribute it to the effects of intrinsic quantum confinement. Localized electronic states in flat bands lining the gap and their strong coupling with phonons are confirmed with first-principles calculations.

Achieving circularly polarized luminescence and large piezoelectric response in hybrid rare-earth double perovskite by a chirality induction strategy

Chirality, an intrinsic property of nature, has received increased attention in chemistry, biology, and materials science because it can induce optical rotation, ferroelectricity, nonlinear optical response, and other unique properties. Here, by introducing chirality into hybrid rare-earth double perovskites (HREDPs), we successfully designed and synthesized a pair of enantiomeric three-dimensional (3D) HREDPs, [(R)-N-methyl-3-hydroxylquinuclidinium]₂RbEu(NO₃)₆ (R1) and [(S)-N-methyl-3-hydroxylquinuclidinium]₂RbEu(NO₃)₆ (S1), which possess ferroelasticity, multiaxial ferroelectricity, high quantum yields (84.71% and 83.55%, respectively), and long fluorescence lifetimes (5.404 and 5.256 ms, respectively). Notably, the introduction of chirality induces the coupling of multiaxial ferroelectricity and ferroelasticity, which brings about a satisfactory large piezoelectric response (103 and 101 pC N^-1 for R1 and S1, respectively). Moreover, in combination with the chirality and outstanding photoluminescence properties, circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) was first realized in HREDPs. This work sheds light on the design strategy of molecule-based materials with a large piezoelectric response and excellent CPL activity, and will inspire researchers to further explore the role of chirality in the construction of novel multifunctional materials.

Competitive Dual-Emission-Induced Thermochromic Luminescence in Organic-Metal Halides

Lead-free Halides, especially Mn-based ones, are preferred as hotspots in the exploration of photoluminescent materials. However, there are few reports on sensitive reversible thermochromism and switchable dual emission originating from self-trapped exciton emission in pure Mn-Based materials. Here, we report a new Mn-based hybrid material [TMPA]₂MnI₄ (TMPA = trimethylphenylammonium), which shows two emission peaks at 545 and 660 nm benefitting from the d-d orbital transition of Mn²⁺ and the generation of self-trapped excitons, respectively. Due to the different sensitivity to temperature, the stages of thermal activation and thermal quenching of the two emission types are also inconsistent, showing a certain competition relationship and dominating the emission colors in different temperature ranges, resulting in adjustable green-orange-green thermochromic luminescence from 100 to 403 K (both high and low temperatures correspond to green, and orange is displayed at near room temperature). Therefore, thermochromic luminescence can be easily achieved by controlling the temperature under the guidance of excited states. This work provides new insights into the synthesis and application of thermochromic materials. Therefore, it is certain that regulating temperature while being guided by excited states will achieve thermochromic luminescence. This research offers fresh perspectives on the development and potential of thermochromic materials.

Photoluminescent Properties of Two-Dimensional Manganese(II)-Based Perovskites with Different-Length Arylamine Cations

The participation of organic cations plays an important role in tuning broad-spectra emissions. Herein, we synthesized a series of Mn(II)-based two-dimensional (2D) halide perovskites with arylamine cations of different lengths having the general formula (C₆H₅(CH₂)_xNH₃)₂MnCl₄ (x = 1-4), with the x = 4 compound reported here for the first time. With the increase in the -(CH₂)- in organic cations, the distance between adjacent inorganic layers increases, causing the title compounds to exhibit different structural distortions. As the Mn-Cl-Mn angular distortion increases, the experimental optical band gaps of the title compounds increase correspondingly. When the angle distortion between the octahedrons of the compounds is similar, the band gaps may also be affected by the distortion of the octahedron itself (the bond-length distortion of 2 is greater than that of 4). Under UV-light irradiation at 298 K, all of the compounds exhibit two emission peaks centered at 480-505 and 610 nm, corresponding to the organic-cation emission and the ⁴T₁(G) to ⁶A₁(S) radiative transition of Mn²⁺ ions, respectively. Among these title compounds, (PPA)₂MnCl₄ [(PPA)⁺ = C₆H₅(CH₂)₃NH₃⁺] exhibits the strongest photoluminescence (PL). The study of the title compounds contributes to an in-depth understanding of the relationship between the structural distortion and optical properties of 2D Mn(II)-based perovskite materials.

Solely 3-Coordinated Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Copper(I) Halide: Hexagonal Channel Structure, Turn-On Response to Mechanical Force, Moisture, and Amine

Herein, we report a novel organic-inorganic hybrid Cu^I halide PyCs₃Cu₂Br₆ (Py: pyridinium), where pyridinium and cesium ions coexist. We successfully develop a novel strategy for fabricating turn-on responsive materials. PyCs₃Cu₂Br₆ has a higher single-crystal symmetry (no. 191) than its all-inorganic counterpart Cs₃Cu₂Br₅ (no. 62), and the incorporation of organic pyridinium varied the coordination environment of Cu^I. PyCs₃Cu₂Br₆ formed a triangle planar structure with solely 3-coordinated Cu^I ions, which quenched its luminescence. However, PyCs₃Cu₂Br₆ presented a hexagonal channel structure, which enabled it with turn-on response upon mechanical force, heat, moisture, and amine vapor. Such structure offered channels for active molecules to diffuse and interact with pyridiniums, leading to the stimuli-triggered phase change to highly emissive Cs₃Cu₂Br₅. To our best knowledge, for the first time, we discover a novel 3-coordinated organic-inorganic hybrid Cu^I halide with turn-on response to external stimuli. We believe that our study will contribute to expanding the landscape of smart stimulus-responsive materials and lay the foundation for their wide applications.