Molecular Disorder Induces an Unusual Phase Transition in a Potential 2D Chiral Ferroelectric Perovskite

Two-dimensional hybrid halide perovskites with single chiral and ferroelectricity together with various structural phase transitions provide the possibility for more diverse functional properties. Here, we present a 2D chiral hybrid halide perovskite ferroelectric, [C₆ H₅ (CH₂ )₄ NH₃ ]₂ CdCl₄ (4PBA-CdCl₄ , 4PBA=4-phenylbutylamine) that experiences two continuous phase transitions from centrosymmetric triclinic P $$ to polar chiral monoclinic P2 and then to another centrosymmetric tetragonal P4/mmm with increasing temperature, accompanied by symmetry breaking, due to the prominent octahedral distortion and disorder transformation of organic 4PBA cations. In the polar chiral phase, 4PBA-CdCl₄ gives a significant CD signal and has a moderate ferroelectric polarization of 0.35 μC/cm² . In addition, 4PBA-CdCl₄ occupies a wide band gap of 4.376 eV that is chiefly contributed by the inorganic CdCl₆ octahedron. This finding offers an alternative pathway for designing new phase transitions and related physical properties in hybrid halide perovskites and other hybrid crystals.