Rapid dielectric bistable switching materials without a time/temperature responsive blind area in the linarite-like type molecular large-size single crystals

Abstract

Molecular bistable switches (electrical switch “ON” and “OFF” bistable states) are a class of highly desirable intelligent materials due to their sensitive switchable physical and/or chemical response, easy and environmentally-friendly processing, light weight and mechanical flexibility. In particular, those switches with a rapid response are rarely reported. In this work, it is found that the supramolecular large-size crystal [H₂DABCO][CdCl₂(SO₄)] (1) possesses a superior rapid switching performance for disordered oxygen atoms and swaying DABCO cations, displaying remarkably high sensitive and rapid dielectric bistable switching between high (switch ON) and low (switch OFF) dielectric states. This electrical switch reveals fatigue resistance and remarkable switching reversibility. Owing to obvious disordered oxygen atoms and swaying DABCO cations compared with the compound [H₂DABCO][CdBr₂(SO₄)] (2), the permittivity of 1, jumping from 4 to ∼10, exhibits an almost vertical gradient in a relatively wide frequency range (responding time/temperature t = 0, which means that there is no responsive blind area), indicating a relatively more rapid electrical response compared with other reported molecular compounds. Therefore, compound 1 can be an excellent stimuli-responsive electrical switch, and its application in molecular/flexible electronic devices will have a profound significance.