Structural phase transition and dielectric switching in an organic-inorganic hybrid rare-earth double perovskite-type compound: (DMP)2LaRb(NO3)6 (DMP = N,N-dimethylpyrrolidinium cation)

In recent years, it has been found that the flexibility of structure and diversity of the components endow quite an amount of the organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites with novel properties, i.e., structural phase transitions. Considering the natural advantage of the perovskite-type structure in generation of stimuli-responsive or smart materials, we synthesized an organic-inorganic hybrid rare-earth double perovskite-type compound, (DMP)₂LaRb(NO₃)₆ (DMP = N,N-dimethylpyrrolidinium cation, 1). It shows reversible phase transition at 219/209 K (heating/cooling). Variable-temperature single-crystal structure analysis and dielectric constant measurements reveal that the thermal vibrations of the polar cation guests and the distortion of the anionic cage-like framework are the origin of the phase transition. Meanwhile, the movement of polar cation in crystal lattices arouses dielectric transition between the low- and high-dielectric states, resulting in a switchable property of dielectric constant. The results reveal that the rare-earth double perovskite provides a promising platform for achieving switchable physical/chemical properties.