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Updated: Aug 16, 2025
Measuring Magnetically-Tuned Ferroelectric Polarization in Liquid Crystals
Published on: August 15, 2018
Magnetic and Dielectric Switchings Actuated by the Rotation of the Picoline Ligand in an Iron-Based Dinuclear
Zheng Tang1, Jun Wen2, Gui-Lin Zhuang2
1Key Laboratory of Cluster Science of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Liangxiang Campus, Beijing 102488, China.
Abstract:
Multifunctional materials with switchable magnetic and dielectric properties are crucial for the development of memory and sensor devices. Herein, we report a methoxy-bridged dinuclear iron-pyridyl complex [Fe2(4-picoline)4(NCS)4(μ-OCH3)2] (1), which shows simultaneous thermal-induced magnetic and dielectric switchings. Within the phase-transition temperature range, both magnetic switching and the dielectric anomaly were detected, in which the thermal hysteresis loops were 23 and 21 K, respectively. Detailed structural analyses revealed that these simultaneous switchings were rooted in the flexible rotatable ligands, which were actuated by readjusting the π-π intermolecular interactions between the pyridine ligands in the trans positions of the metal centers. These results were comprehensively investigated both experimentally and theoretically. This study presents a new guideline to control both the magnetic and dielectric properties of molecular complexes by external stimuli.
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