title: Hydrogen-bonded donor--acceptor compounds for organic ferroelectric materials.
abstract: Organic ferroelectrics are multifunctional candidates for future organic electronic and optical devices. In spite of their potential, only a few organic compounds are known to exhibit a ferroelectric transition. The conventional approach to ferroelectrics, in general, relies on the use of asymmetric dipolar molecules and/or substituents. Recently, distinct design strategies have been developed using the molecular compounds of binary- or multi-components, combined with "non-covalent" forces: charge-transfer interactions and/or hydrogen bonding. This article focuses on the supramolecular systems of hydrogen-bonded acid and base molecules. Ferroelectricity and a significant dielectric response, as well as an antiferroelectric ordering induced by proton transfer, are demonstrated in the hydrogen-bonded chains composed of 2,5-dihydroxy-p-benzoquinone derivatives and nitrogen-containing aromatic bases.
authors.affiliation: Correlated Electron Research Center (CERC), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba 305-8562, Japan. s-horiuchi@aist.go.jp
authors.forename: Sachio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Horiuchi
authors.forename: Reiji
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kumai
authors.forename: Yoshinori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tokura