Bistable State of Protons for Low-Voltage Memories

Molecular ferroelectrics are attracting tremendous interest because of their easy and environmental-friendly processing, low acoustic impedance, and mechanical flexibility. Their ferroelectric mechanism is mainly ascribed to the order–disorder transition of molecules such as spherical 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2] octane (DABCO) and quinuclidine. Here, we present two molecular ferroelectrics, [HDABCO]­[TFSA] and its deuterated one [DDABCO]­[TFSA] (TFSA = bis­(trifluoro­methylsulfonyl)­ammonium), whose ferroelectricity is triggered by the proton ordering. This is the first time that the protons show a thermally fluctuated bistability with a double-well potential in DABCO-based ferroelectrics. A large deuterium isotope effect (ΔT = ∼53 K) not only proves that they are hydrogen-bonded ferroelectrics but also extends the ferroelectric working temperature range to room temperature. The superfast polarization switching of 100 kHz and ultralow coercive voltage of 1 V (far less than 5 V required for commercially available ferroelectric devices), benefiting from the low energy for proton transfer, allow [DDABCO]­[TFSA] a great potential for memory devices with low-voltage, high-speed operation. This work should inspire further exploration of hydrogen-bonded molecular ferroelectrics for flexible and wearable devices with the low-power information storage.