The role of Jahn-Teller distortion in insulator to semiconductor phase transition in organic-inorganic hybrid compound (p-chloroanilinium)2CuCl4 at high pressure

Pallavi Ghalsasi; Nandini Garg; M N Deo; Alka Garg; Hemant Mande; Prasanna Ghalsasi; Surinder M Sharma

doi:10.1039/c5cp05293a

The role of Jahn-Teller distortion in insulator to semiconductor phase transition in organic-inorganic hybrid compound (p-chloroanilinium)2CuCl4 at high pressure

Phys Chem Chem Phys. 2015 Dec 28;17(48):32204-10. doi: 10.1039/c5cp05293a.

Authors

Pallavi Ghalsasi¹, Nandini Garg², M N Deo², Alka Garg², Hemant Mande³, Prasanna Ghalsasi³, Surinder M Sharma²

Affiliations

¹ School of Science & Engineering, Navrachana University, Vadodara-391 410, Gujarat, India.
² High Pressure and Synchrotron Radiation Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai-400 085, India.
³ Faculty of Science, Department of Chemistry, The M.S. University of Baroda, Vadodara-390 001, Gujarat, India. pallavi.teredesai@gmail.com nandini@barc.gov.in.

PMID: 26577027
DOI: 10.1039/c5cp05293a

Abstract

(p-Chloroanilinium)2CuCl4(C2H14Cl6CuN2) is from an important family of organic-inorganic layered hybrid compounds which can be a possible candidate for multiferroicity. In situ high pressure FTIR, Raman and resistivity measurements on this compound indicate the weakening of Jahn-Teller distortion and the consequent removal of puckering of the CuCl6(4-) octahedra within the layer. These effects trigger insulator to semiconductor phase transition along with a change in the sample colour from yellow to dark red. This article explains the crucial role of the anisotropic volume reduction of the CuCl6(4-) octahedron (caused due to the quenching of Jahn-Teller distortion) in the observed insulator to semiconductor phase transition.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't