Yuki
Ohishi
a,
Kohei
Sambe
b,
Shun
Dekura
bc,
Tomoyuki
Akutagawa
bc,
Atsuko
Masuya-Suzuki
ad and
Ryo
Tsunashima
*ad
aGraduate School of Sciences and Technology for Innovation, Yamaguchi University, Yoshida 1677-1, Yamaguchi, 753-8512, Japan. E-mail: ryotsuna@yamaguchi-u.ac.jp
bGraduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577, Japan
cInstitute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials (IMRAM), Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577, Japan
dChemistry Course, Faculty of Science, Yamaguchi University, Yoshida 1677-1, Yamaguchi, Japan
First published on 10th June 2024
1,4-Diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (dabco) forms one-dimensional chains through intermolecular N–H+⋯N hydrogen bonds and exhibits ferroelectricity originating from proton transfer. The size of the polarized domain differs depending on the size, symmetry, and polarizability of the counter anions. Herein, two binary halide solid solutions of dabcoHBr mixed with dabcoHCl (ClBr) and dabcoHI (BrI) were prepared, and the temperature dependence of the single crystal structure and the phase transition behaviour were investigated. The solid solution of ClBr contained 3% Cl− in dabcoHBr; thus, the lattice length, space group, and volume were similar to those of dabcHBr. The phase transition temperature from the hydrogen-bonded structure to the ion-pair structure decreased from 458 to 440 K upon mixing with Cl−. In contrast, solid solution BrI was formed with all proportional solid solutions, and the crystallographic parameters characterised by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis obeyed Vegard's law. Phase transition behaviours were investigated for single crystals of Br
:
I = 8
:
2 (Br0.80I0.20) via temperature-variable single crystal XRD analysis. A new structural range was observed between 251–373 K. Within this range, the intermolecular N–H+⋯N hydrogen bonds were weakened. This was also a ferroelectric phase similar to that of the original dabcoHBr. In the high-temperature range, a phase transition from the hydrogen-bonded phase to the ion-pair phase was observed at 435 K, which was lower than the 458 K of dabcoHBr.
Metal-free ferroelectrics composed of organic molecules and/or halides are lightweight, safer for humans and the environment, and easily processed.13–18 The mechanism of ferroelectricity in metal-free ferroelectrics differs from the displacement of atoms from centrosymmetric positions in metal-containing ferroelectrics. In contrast, metal-free ferroelectrics include orientational polarization of the molecules by inverting their orientation via an outer electric field and displacing the proton in the hydrogen bond at appropriate interatomic distances.
Several hydrogen-bonded ferroelectrics, such as dabcoHA (A = BF4−, ClO4−, ReO4−), dabco = 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane,19–21 have been shown to exhibit large polarization comparable to those of metal-containing ferroelectrics at room temperature.22–27 The counter anions, A−, are distributed within the space of the hydrogen-bonded dabcoH+ chains and bridging them (Fig. 1). The proton transfer in hydrogen bonding, as well as the orientation and ionic polarization of A− are components of the ferroelectric mechanism. DabcoHX (X = Br−, I−) contains spherical anions and exhibits a different polarization order to that of dabcoHA.28,29 Dabco forms a one-dimensional chain; however, its order is short-ranged and formed with weak electronic polarizations of anions. Therefore, dabcoHX is a relaxor ferroelectric with proton transfer.28–30 Mono-salts consisting of dabcoH+ form a polarization order owing to the size, polarizability, and symmetry of the anion.
![]() | ||
| Fig. 1 Crystal structure of dabcoHX in (a) ab and (b) bc planes (C: grey, N: blue and halides X: purple). H atoms are omitted for clarity. | ||
Solid solutions are formed by the homogeneous mixing of two or more components to produce a single solid phase, such as the relaxor ferroelectrics of A(BB')O3 previously described. The Curie temperature, polarization, and dielectric constant of a metal-containing solid solution are controlled by its composition. In addition, a morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) is observed when crystals with different symmetries are used in solid solutions. Physical properties such as the dielectric and piezoelectric constants exhibited anomalous behaviour at the MPB.31–34
Solid solutions of molecular crystals are often substitutional solid solutions of isomorphic structures, for example, replaced by a molecule with the same family of elements. The phase transition behaviour and molecular motility in the crystals are less dependent on the composition. However, there are examples of molecular crystalline solid solutions whose phase transition behaviours and molecular mobilities are composition-dependent;35–39 for example, solid solutions partially substituted with different halogens. CM (cyclohexylmethylammonium) salts undergo a phase transition at a temperature that depends on composition.40 Furthermore, a previous study showed high piezoelectricity with (TMFM)x(TMCM)1−xCdCl3 (TMFM = trimethylfluoromethyl ammonium, TMCM = trimethylchloromethyl ammonium).41
Differently from the inorganic relaxor, solid solution of the molecular-based metal-free relaxor has not been developed yet. This study focuses on the structure and phase transition behaviour of halide solid solutions of dabcoH+ salts. The inorganic relaxer ferroelectrics have developed with solid solutions of varieties of metals. However, molecular crystals often lack diversity in structure and properties. This arises from the fact that molecular solid solution is obtained from isostructural pares whose structure and properties are similar.36 In this study, we succeeded in crystallizing the halide solid solution of the dabco-based metal-free relaxer and unveiled composition dependence on the structures, phase transition behaviours, and ferroelectricity.
:
1 mixture of dabco with acid HX has been demonstrated.28 This was followed by the experimental procedures for ClBr and BrI, wherein acids HBr and HX (HX = HCl or HI) were mixed at a ratio of x′ which is the experimental mixing ratio of HBr to HI. Good-quality single crystals suitable for single-crystal XRD environments were isolated after slow solvent evaporation by keeping the solution in the atmosphere for several days. Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) mapping showed the uniform dispersion of both halogens within the crystal (Fig. S1†).
The solid solution ratio of the halide ions was estimated using elemental analysis of carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen (CHN). The relationship between the experimental mixing ratio, x′, and the solid solution ratio determined experimentally, x, is shown in Fig. 2. Regarding the solid solution ClBr, no proportional relationship was observed between them. In solid solution ClBr with a high composition of Cl−, the concentration of Br− was approximately 7% (referred to as Cl0.93Br0.07). Contrary to Cl− rich ClBr, Cl− in ClBr with a high composition of Br− was approximately 3% (referred to as Cl0.03Br0.97). The low miscibility of Cl− and Br− occurs because of the differences between the structure of the end-members. DabcoH+ interacts with Cl− in the crystal of dabcoHCl to produce an ion-pairing structure.42 A hydrogen-bonded chain structure is observed in dabcoHCl trihydrate.42 The PXRD diffraction pattern of the Cl0.93Br0.07 solid solution corresponded to that of (dabcoHCl)·3H2O. Conversely, the Cl0.03Br0.97 corresponded to the diffraction pattern of dabcoHBr consisting of hydrogen-bonded chains (Fig. S2†).
A linear relationship was observed between the mixing ratio of the solid solution BrI and the composition ratio of the crystal. The components were mixed at all proportions, which is typical for all proportional solid solutions. BrI is highly miscible because of the isomorphism of dabcoHBr and dabcoHI.
m2, which was the same as that of dabcoHBr (Fig. S3†). The lattice constants, a and c, and lattice volume were 6.6645(5), 5.3238(4) Å, and 204.78(3) Å3, respectively. Therefore, the crystal structure of solid solution Cl0.03Br0.97 was not significantly different from that of dabcoHBr43 (6.6650(10), 5.3130(10) Å, and 204.40(6) Å3).
DabcoHBr underwent a two-step phase transition when heated at 458 K and 471 K.28 The first transition at 458 K corresponded to the breaking of hydrogen bonds; the N–H+⋯N hydrogen-bonded chain structure (phase III) was transited to the ion-pair structure with NH+⋯Br− (phase II). At 471 K, another hydrogen bond was formed between the methylene moiety and bromide (phase I). The structural phase transition behaviour of Cl0.03Br0.97 was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) (Fig. 2(c)). The corresponding two-step phase transition was observed in the solid solution Cl0.03Br0.97, whereas phase transition temperature from phase III to phase II was decreased to 440 K from 458 K for dabcoHBr, indicating decreases in transition enthalpy (ΔH). According to the relationship ΔH = TΔS for a phase transition, and given that the transition entropy (ΔS) is comparable to dabcoHBr and Cl0.03Br0.97, ΔH is expected to decrease with addition of Cl−. The estimated ΔH was 4.6 kJ mol−1, a slight decrease from 5.1 kJ mol−1 for dabcoHBr.28
The subsequent heating of the ion-pair phase II resulted in a further transition at 481 K; ΔH and ΔS were 3.5 kJ mol−1 and 7.2 J mol−1 K−1, respectively. Whereas, the cooling process exhibited a thermal anomaly characterized by a single-step broad peak at 438 K with ΔH = 3.7 kJ mol−1, which is lower than the sum of ΔH for heating process. PXRD pattern at 298 K after heating at 500 K was identical to that of phase III, indicating a reversible phase transition process between hydrogen bonding phase and ion-pair phase (Fig. S4†). It was suggested that the decrease in ΔH is due to a phase transition, which involves a gradual change in structure, such as a second-order type phase transition.
| Compound | Br 0.19 I 0.81 | Br 0.27 I 0.73 | Br 0.64 I 0.36 | Br 0.74 I 0.26 | Br 0.80 I 0.20 | Br 0.90 I 0.10 | Br 0.95 I 0.05 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Formula | C6H13N2Br0.19I0.81 | C6H13N2Br0.27I0.73 | C6H13N2Br0.64I0.36 | C6H13N2Br0.74I0.26 | C6H13N2Br0.80I0.20 | C6H13N2Br0.90I0.10 | C6H13N2Br0.95I0.05 |
| Crystal system | Hexagonal | ||||||
| Space group |
P m2 |
||||||
| a, Å | 7.0554(4) | 6.9445(9) | 6.8337(5) | 6.8015(6) | 6.7541(6) | 6.6949(4) | 6.6793(6) |
| c, Å | 5.3473(3) | 5.3334(5) | 5.3349(3) | 5.3298(4) | 5.3383(4) | 5.3265(4) | 5.3178(5) |
| V, Å3 | 230.54(3) | 222.75(6) | 215.76(3) | 213.53(4) | 210.90(4) | 206.76(3) | 205.46(4) |
| Z | 1 | ||||||
| ρ calc, g cm−3 | 1.665 | 1.695 | 1.616 | 1.597 | 1.594 | 1.589 | 1.580 |
| Reflections collected | 1334 | 809 | 1547 | 803 | 1246 | 778 | 1234 |
| Independent reflections | 245 | 218 | 240 | 224 | 231 | 212 | 225 |
| Data/restraints/parameters | 245/0/11 | 218/0/11 | 240/0/12 | 224/0/11 | 231/0/12 | 212/0/11 | 225/0/11 |
| Goodness of fit on F2 | 1.097 | 1.081 | 1.077 | 1.206 | 1.114 | 1.240 | 1.080 |
| Final R indices [I ≥ 2σ(I)] | R 1 = 0.0141 | R 1 = 0.0263 | R 1 = 0.0525 | R 1 = 0.0436 | R 1 = 0.0389 | R 1 = 0.0155 | R 1 = 0.0314 |
| wR2 = 00353 | wR2 = 0.0667 | wR2 = 0.1272 | wR2 = 0.1136 | wR2 = 0.0930 | wR2 = 0.0427 | wR2 = 0.0717 | |
| Final R indices [all data] | R 1 = 0.0141 | R 1 = 0.0263 | R 1 = 0.0533 | R 1 = 0.0436 | R 1 = 0.0394 | R 1 = 0.0155 | R 1 = 0.0327 |
| wR2 = 0.0353 | wR2 = 0.0667 | wR2 = 0.1275 | wR2 = 0.1136 | wR2 = 0.0933 | wR2 = 0.0427 | wR2 = 0.0723 | |
| Temperature, K | 298 | ||||||
Fig. 3(a) shows a plot of the a-axis length (⊥ hydrogen bonding) and c-axis length (// hydrogen bonding) versus composition. In dabcoHBr and dabcoHI, the difference in the ionic radii of the counter anions ware appeared in those of a-axis lengths, which corresponded to the distance between the hydrogen-bonded chains. The dependence of the a- and c-axis lengths on composition was linear and followed Vegard's law.
Both of dabcoHBr and Br0.80I0.20 had distribution in crystallographic data (Fig. 3(b and c)). For dabcoHBr, the 2σ ranges (97%) for the lattice lengths a and c were 6.6323–6.6975 and 5.2846–5.3454, respectively. Those of Br0.80I0.20 were comparable; 6.7151–6.7495 and 5.3184–5.3308. Thus, distribution observed in Br0.80I0.20 is not originated from heterogeneousity in ratio of Br− and I−, rather intrinsic differences. A single crystal of Br0.80I0.20 which has the largest a-axis (entry 15) was used to evaluate temperature-dependence between 112–373 K (Table S3†).
The temperature dependence of the lattice constant of the end-member dabcoHBr was reported by Szafrański et al.28 The a- and c-axis lengths exhibited a linear increase as the temperature increased from 95 to 400 K (phase III). However, the temperature dependence of the lattice length in Br0.80I0.20 changed at ∼250 K for the a- and c-axes (Fig. S6†), indicating that phase III in dabcoHBr was divided into two ranges—the low-temperature range (LTR; ≤250 K) and the medium-temperature range (MTR; 251–373 K). Table 2 lists the coefficients of thermal expansion, β, calculated using the formula: α = α0(1 + βT). The β values in dabcoHBr were constant at the a-axis (4.46 × 10−5 K−1) and the c-axis (1.78 × 10−5 K−1). However, increasing the temperature from LTR to MTR in Br0.80I0.20 increased the β values on the a- and c-axes by 1.6- and 2.2-fold, respectively. The temperature dependence of the lattice volume V corresponded to the lattice length.
| LTR | MTR | |
|---|---|---|
| a, 10−5 K−1 | 2.993 | 4.814 |
| c, 10−5 K−1 | 0.8285 | 1.822 |
| V, 10−5 K−1 | 6.864 | 12.40 |
The temperature dependence of the N⋯N distance between dabco molecules was investigated to determine the details of the hydrogen bonds (Fig. S7†). The N⋯N distance in dabcoHBr increased linearly with temperature, reaching 2.787(8) Å at 293 K in phase III.44 The N⋯N distance in Br0.80I0.20 remained constant at 2.78(2) Å in LTR which corresponds to that of dabcoHBr. At 251 K the N⋯N distance began to increase but subsequently became constant at ∼2.81 Å at 298–373 K. The elongation of the N⋯N distance to MTR resulted in weaker hydrogen bonding at MTR compared to LTR, which affected proton motility in hydrogen bonds. Using density functional theory (DFT), the activation barriers for proton motion at LTR (N⋯N distance: 2.78 Å) and MTR (N⋯N distance: 2.81 Å) were estimated as 0.30 and 0.37 eV, respectively (Fig. S8†).
![]() | ||
| Fig. 4 (a and b) Temperature dependence of complex permittivity (a: c-axis direction, b: a-axis direction). | ||
![]() | ||
| Fig. 6 Measurements were performed on Br0.80I0.20 between 273–500 K, at a sweep rate of 10 K min−1 and under N2 atmosphere. | ||
:
1 molar ratio. Crystals were obtained by solvent evaporation under shaded light for several days. The solid solution ClBr was crystallised using the preparation ratio to HCl: 1 − x′ and HBr: x′ for each corresponding acid, x′ = 0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, or 1 (yield 37.7, 35.5, 41.8, 44.6, and 46.5%). Solid solution BrI was crystallised using the same method as ClBr, with HBr: x′, HI: 1 − x′, and with preparation ratios of x′ = 0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.65, 0.70, 0.75, 0.85, 0.90, or 1 (yield 42.6, 45.8, 35.2, 32.2, 31.4, 43.8, 37.5, 41.5, and 46.5%). For further details, see ESI.†
Footnote |
| † Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Details on experimental procedures, DFT and crystallographic analysis. CCDC 2340566–2340574. For ESI and crystallographic data in CIF or other electronic format see DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/d4ce00310a |
| This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2024 |