Upcoming Seminars

"Ferroelectricity in hybrid organic-inorganic compounds," by Alessandro Stroppa, CNR-SPIN (Italy), hosted by Saw Wai Hla

Abstract: Ferroelectric materials, whose spontaneous polarizations can be switched under an external electric field, have a wide range of applications in device electronics. Recent discoveries of ferroelectricity in organic solids have been limited to some well-known polymer ferroelectrics or a few low-molecular-mass compounds. Computational approaches based on density functional theory represent a valuable tool in predicting or suggesting new organic ferroelectrics with the large polarization values needed for device applications. In particular, the modern theory of polarization is used to estimate the polarization in insulating compounds and symmetry analysis gives an important help for gaining insights into the mechanisms responsible for the ferroelectric polarization.

In this contribution, we will focus on the description of the ferroelectric properties of complex organic-inorganic systems, such as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). In particular, MOFs with a perovskite topology show promising new routes for the cohexistence of ferroelectricity and magnetism (i.e., multiferroicity).