Optics

Physics

Chirality (physics)

Dielectric

Physical chemistry

Phase transition

Chemical physics

Nanotechnology

Organic chemistry

Chemistry

Materials science

Symmetry breaking

Polarization (electrochemistry)

Nambu–Jona-Lasinio model

Condensed matter physics

Molecule

Optoelectronics

Chiral symmetry breaking

Quantum mechanics

Ferroelectricity

Optical rotation

Nature Communications

Molecular ferroelectrics are currently an active research topic in the field of ferroelectric materials. As complements or alternatives of conventional inorganic ferroelectrics, they have been designed to realize various novel properties, ranging from multiferroicity and semiconductive ferroelectricity to ferroelectric photovoltaics and ferroelectric luminescence. The stabilizing of ferroelectricity in various systems is owing to the flexible tailorability of the organic components. Here we describe the construction of optically active molecular ferroelectrics by introducing homochiral molecules as polar groups. We find that the ferroelectricity in (R)-(-)-3-hydroxlyquinuclidinium halides is due to the alignment of the homochiral molecules. We observe that both the specific optical rotation and rotatory direction change upon paraelectric-ferroelectric phase transitions, due to the existence of two origins from the molecular chirality and spatial arrangement, whose contributions vary upon the transitions. The optical rotation switching effect may find applications in electro-optical elements.

Anomalously rotary polarization discovered in homochiral organic ferroelectrics