Organic metal (EDO-TTF)₂PF₆ with multi-instability

The multi-instability of the electronic structure of (EDO-TTF)₂PF₆, where EDO-TTF means ethylene-dioxytetrathiafulvalene, is reviewed. This complex showed the metal-insulator transition at 280 K associated with distinct molecular deformations. The mechanism is interpreted as the cooperation of Peierls transition, charge ordering, and the order-disorder transition of the countercomponent. The charge ordering pattern in the low-temperature phase is of the novel [0, 0, 1, 1] type. The sensitivity of the electronic state to external perturbations is demonstrated applying not only static but also instantaneous stimuli. In the latter case, the photo-induced phase transition is ultrafast and highly efficient. One photon causes the transition of several hundreds of donor molecules in the low-temperature phase to relax into a highly conducting metastable state within about 1.5 ps. In the early stage of the transient state, the charge ordering of the [1, 0, 1, 0] type occurs. As for the chemical modifications of this material, the partial deuteration of this complex increases the metal-insulator transition temperature. The introduction of a methyl group greatly modulates the electronic structure of the complex, i.e. (methyl-EDO-TTF)₂X (X=BF₄, ClO₄) shows a two-dimensional electronic structure. The working hypotheses for developing the systems with multi-instability are described.