Exceptionally high work density of a ferroelectric dynamic organic crystal around room temperature.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 35595845.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-022-30541-y and PMC identifier 9123006.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Dynamic organic crystals are rapidly gaining traction as a new class of smart materials for energy conversion, however, they are only capable of very small strokes (<12%) and most of them operate through energetically cost-prohibitive processes at high temperatures. We report on the exceptional performance of an organic actuating material with exceedingly large stroke that can reversibly convert energy into work around room temperature. When transitioning at 295-305 K on heating and at 265-275 K on cooling the ferroelectric crystals of guanidinium nitrate exert a linear stroke of 51%, the highest value observed with a reversible operation of an organic single crystal actuator. Their maximum force density is higher than electric cylinders, ceramic piezoactuators, and electrostatic actuators, and their work capacity is close to that of thermal actuators. This work demonstrates the hitherto untapped potential of ionic organic crystals for applications such as light-weight capacitors, dielectrics, ferroelectric tunnel junctions, and thermistors.