Temperature-Triggered Switchable Dielectric Constants in Zinc-Based Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Compounds: (C3H6NH2)2[ZnX4] (X = Cl and Br)

Two new zinc-based hybrid organic-inorganic compounds (AZT)(2)[ZnX4] (AZT = azetidine cation; X = Cl, 1; Br, 2) were successfully synthesized as high-temperature stimuli-responsive materials. Systematic thermodynamic characterization demonstrated that they undergo reversible structural phase transitions accompanied by switchable dielectric constant centered at 342 K for 1 and 356 K for 2, respectively. Variable-temperature single-crystal X-ray analysis and dielectric constant measurements disclosed the order-disorder transformation of the cation and anion contributed to the desirable electrical properties. As expected, the static-motional transition in crystal structure arouses dielectric transitions between the low- and high-dielectric states, making them a type of switchable dielectric materials.