Electric-field-induced charge-transfer phase transition: a promising approach toward electrically switchable devices

Tarik Mahfoud; Gábor Molnár; Sébastien Bonhommeau; Saioa Cobo; Lionel Salmon; Philippe Demont; Hiroko Tokoro; Shin-Ichi Ohkoshi; Kamel Boukheddaden; Azzedine Bousseksou

doi:10.1021/ja9055855

Electric-field-induced charge-transfer phase transition: a promising approach toward electrically switchable devices

J Am Chem Soc. 2009 Oct 21;131(41):15049-54. doi: 10.1021/ja9055855.

Authors

Tarik Mahfoud¹, Gábor Molnár, Sébastien Bonhommeau, Saioa Cobo, Lionel Salmon, Philippe Demont, Hiroko Tokoro, Shin-Ichi Ohkoshi, Kamel Boukheddaden, Azzedine Bousseksou

Affiliation

¹ CNRS, Laboratoire de Chimie de Coordination, 205 route de Narbonne, Toulouse, France.

PMID: 19788300
DOI: 10.1021/ja9055855

Abstract

Much research has been directed toward the development of electrically switchable optical materials for applications in memory and display devices. Here we present experimental evidence for an electric-field-induced charge-transfer phase transition in two cyanometalate complexes: Rb(0.8)Mn[Fe(CN)(6)](0.93).1.62H(2)O and Co(3)[W(CN)(8)](2)(pyrimidine)(4).6H(2)O, involving changes in their magnetic, optical, and electronic properties as well. Application of an electric field above a threshold value and within the thermal hysteresis region leads to a transition from the high- to the low-temperature phase in these compounds. A model is proposed to explain the main observations on the basis of a para-ferroelectric transition. Our observations suggest that this new concept of electrical switching, based on materials exhibiting charge-transfer phase transitions with large thermal hysteresis loops, may open up doors for novel electro-optical devices.