Recently, XJTU doctoral candidate Xin Lipeng of the research team led by professor Lou Xiaojie from the Frontier Institute of Science and Technology synthesized large single crystals of [(CH3)2NH2][Ni(HCOO)3] (DMNiF) of high quality. Through low-temperature powder X-ray diffraction, Raman scattering and infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, resonant ultrasound spectroscopy and other comprehensive physical means of characterization, they found that in [(CH3)2NH2][Ni(HCOO)3], ferroelectric, antiferromagnetic, ferroelastic and other multiferroics were associated with ordered static and dynamic strain-mediated coupling. In addition, acoustic lossdifferent from that of traditional oxide perovskites occurred during ferroelectric phase transition. The experimental session proved that overlapping strains from separated ferroelectric and magnetic order parameters could lead to strong magnetoelectric coupling, and that larger strain mediation could be realized through simple film fabrication. This study may shed new light on the magnetoelectric coupling and property control of traditional inorganic oxide single-phased and composite multiferroics.

The research result was published online in Advanced Functional Materials(Impact Factor: 13.325), an international well-known journal in the materials field, under the title Strain coupling and dynamic relaxation in a molecular perovskite-like multiferroic metal-organic framework. Doctoral candidate Xin Lipeng is the first author, professor Lou Xiaojie is the only corresponding author. XJTU Frontier Institute of Science and Technology is the institutional affiliation of the first author and the only corresponding author.