Chiral multiferroicity in two-dimensional hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 38956033.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-024-49708-w and PMC identifier 11220029.
- 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
Chiral multiferroics offer remarkable capabilities for controlling quantum devices at multiple levels. However, these materials are rare due to the competing requirements of long-range orders and strict symmetry constraints. In this study, we present experimental evidence that the coexistence of ferroelectric, magnetic orders, and crystallographic chirality is achievable in hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites [(R/S)-β-methylphenethylamine]<sub>2</sub>CuCl<sub>4</sub>. By employing Landau symmetry mode analysis, we investigate the interplay between chirality and ferroic orders and propose a novel mechanism for chirality transfer in hybrid systems. This mechanism involves the coupling of non-chiral distortions, characterized by defining a pseudo-scalar quantity, <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mi>ξ</mi> <mo>=</mo> <mi>p</mi> <mo>⋅</mo> <mi>r</mi></math> ( <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mi>p</mi></math> represents the ferroelectric displacement vector and <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mi>r</mi></math> denotes the ferro-rotational vector), which distinguishes between (R)- and (S)-chirality based on its sign. Moreover, the reversal of this descriptor's sign can be associated with coordinated transitions in ferroelectric distortions, Jahn-Teller antiferro-distortions, and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya vectors, indicating the mediating role of crystallographic chirality in magnetoelectric correlations.