Switchable dielectric phase transition induced by a twisting transformation in diglycine methanesulfonate

A new glycine-based reversible phase transition compound diglycine methanesulfonate (1) has been successfully synthesized. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements of 1 showed a pair of broad peaks around 134 K (T(c)=phase transition temperature) with a slight thermal hysteresis during the heating/cooling cycle, thereby indicating that this compound undergoes a reversible second-order phase transition. Dielectric measurements further confirmed the phase transition and revealed a switchable response to the ambient temperature change for the dielectric constants of 1, namely, the dielectric constants have a distinctive step-like anomaly switching between a high dielectric state in the room temperature phase (RTP) and a low state in the low temperature phase (LTP). Variable-temperature single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses show that 1 undergoes an atypical transition from the space group P2₁/m in the RTP to P2₁/c in the LTP. The origin of the switchable dielectric phase transition is ascribed to the movement of the moieties in 1 from the equilibrium position, and this stems from the twisting of the molecules in the compound. We believe that these findings will be useful in exploring switchable dielectric phase transition materials.