Fluorine Substitution Induced High <i>T</i>_c of Enantiomeric Perovskite Ferroelectrics: (<i>R</i>)<i>-</i> and (<i>S</i>)<i>-</i>3-(Fluoropyrrolidinium)MnCl₃

Abstract

The past decade has witnessed much progress in designing molecular ferroelectrics, whose intrinsic mechanical flexibility, structural tunability, and easy processability are desirable for next-generation flexible and wearable electronic devices. However, an obstacle in expanding their promising applications in nonvolatile memory elements, capacitors, and sensors is effectively modulating the Curie temperature (Tc). Here, taking advantage of fluorine substitution on the reported molecular ferroelectric, (pyrrolidinium)MnCl3, we present enantiomeric perovskite ferroelectrics, namely, (R)- and (S)-3-(fluoropyrrolidinium)MnCl3. The close van der Waal’s radii and the similar steric parameters between H and F atoms ensure the minimum disruption of the crystal structure, while their different electronegativity and polarizability can trigger significant changes in the physical and chemical properties. As expected, the Tc gets successfully increased from 295 K in (pyrrolidinium)MnCl3 to 333 K in these two homochiral compounds. Such a dramatic enhancement of 38 K signifies an important step toward designing high-Tc molecular ferroelectrics. In the light of the conceptually new idea of fluorine substitution, one could look forward to a continuous succession of new molecular ferroelectric materials and technology developments.