Research Projects

Modern information technology has led to a growing interest in polar materials, particularly ferroelectric materials, due to their stimuli-responsive properties. However, conventional ferroelectric materials face challenges in polarization, as they require collective lattice modes to construct low-symmetry ferroelectric and high-symmetry paraelectric phases. Dynamic molecular crystals with molecular tailorability can switch electronic, magnetic, and optical properties by external stimuli. Cobalt-dioxolene Valence Tautomeric (VT) complexes are ideal candidates for this purpose, as they show intramolecular electron transfer and can be manipulated by external perturbations like heat, light, pressure, and magnetic fields. Light-induced polarization switching is considered more energy-efficient and could be used for high-speed switching in the quantum optoelectronics industry. Magnetic field switching in multiferroic materials is a popular topic in condensed matter physics, and researchers are exploring the possibility of achieving the magnetoelectric effect in molecular magnetic materials without long-range ordering features. This approach also allows for stimuli-responsive inversion of polarization direction, which is currently only realized in ferroelectric systems with an external electric field.