One-Dimensional Hybrid Metal Halide with Polymer-like Flexible Inorganic Chains and Glass-Forming Ability

Hybrid glasses made from hybrid metal halides (HMHs) have shown intriguing properties such as environmental durability, optical transparency, and excellent processability, which have fueled an ever-expanding set of applications. However, due to the melt instability, HMH glasses, particularly with one-dimensional or two-dimensional structures, are still rare. Herein, we report the uncommon one-dimensional chain structure comprising corner-sharing lead-bromide trimers in (4-EAMP)₂Pb₃Br₁₀ (4-EAMP = 4-(ethylaminomethyl)pyridine), whose polymer-like flexible chains enable soft, elastic, and meltable characteristics. By systematically scrutinizing HMHs constructed from face-, edge-, and corner-sharing chains, we find that the chain configurations substantially define the mechanical and thermal properties when organic ligands possess relatively analogous structures. The corner-sharing structure of (4-EAMP)₂Pb₃Br₁₀ crystals offers conformational freedom for melting, which allows stable melt over a wide temperature range of 70 K. The amorphization of (4-EAMP)₂Pb₃Br₁₀ does not significantly reduce the coordination degree of the inorganic framework and has realized high-performance X-ray detection and imaging functions with an elevated sensitivity of 8581.7 μC Gy_air^-1 cm^-2. Our results present a material platform toward understanding the origin and structural manifestation of melting and vitrification in hybrid organic-inorganic solids.