A Piezoelectric Molecular Cocrystal with Unconventional $\pi$-Stacking

TL;DR

This study reports the synthesis and detailed characterization of a novel polar cocrystal with unconventional $cc$-stacking, exhibiting significant piezoelectric properties due to its unique molecular arrangement.

Contribution

It introduces a new polar cocrystal with unusual aromatic stacking and quantifies its piezoelectric response, expanding understanding of molecular piezoelectric materials.

Findings

Cocrystal exhibits a band gap of ~2.4 eV.

Electric polarization measured at 7.1 μC.

Shear piezoelectric coefficient up to 11.4 pC/N.

Abstract

We demonstrate the crystallization of a polar octafluoronaphthalene (OFN, \OFN)--phthalazine (Phth, \Phth) cocrystal, formed in a 1:2 ratio by slow evaporation. The crystal structure and vibrational properties of the cocrystal were determined using powder/single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier-Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and confirmed with density functional theory (DFT) and density functional perturbation theory (DFPT) calculations. The molecular $\pi$-stacking of aromatic rings is unconventional compared with other arene--perfluoroarene cocrystals. Phth molecules are offset and misaligned with respect to the major axis of OFN due to electrostatic repulsion between N and F atoms, enabling overall electric polarization attributed to the dipole moment of Phth. Our calculations show that OFN:2Phth is an insulator with a band gap of $\sim$2.4 eV. The electric polarization was calculated to be 7.1 \muC, while the shear piezoelectric coefficient ($d_{34}$) may be as large as 11.4 pC N$^{-1}$.