Molecular Designs for Enhancement of Polarity in Ferroelectric Soft Materials

The racemic oxovanadium(IV) salmmen complexes, [VO((rac)-(4-X-salmmen))] (X=C₁₂C₁₀C₅ (1), C₁₆ (2), and C₁₈ (3); salmmen=N,N′-monomethylenebis-salicylideneimine) with "banana shaped" molecular structures were synthesized, and their ferroelectric properties were investigated. These complexes exhibit well-defined hysteresis loops in their viscous phases, moreover, 1 also displays liquid crystal behaviour. We observed a synergetic effect influenced by three structural aspects; the methyl substituents on the ethylene backbone, the banana shaped structure and the square pyramidal metal cores all play an important role in generating the observed ferroelectricity, pointing the way to a useful strategy for the creation of advanced ferroelectric soft materials.