Decoupling contributions to spontaneous polarization in Hybrid formate perovskites

The quest for flexible, lead-free, low temperature synthesizable alternatives to the tradition ferroelectric oxides has instigated the search for ferroelectrics in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). One of the sub-classes of MOFs, the hybrid formate perovskites (HFPs), habors materials which have been proven experimentally and computationally to be ferroelectric. However, the values of polarization recorded so far for HFPs are rather low, like ten orders of magnitude lower than those of traditional perovskite oxides. Therefore, it is essential to dissect the polarization contributions from the structural entities of HFPs, majorly the framework and molecules, in an attempt to identify the major driver of ferroelectricity. Thus, in this work, we have identified contributions to the total spontaneous polarization from seven ferroelectric members of hybrid formate perovskites.