Structure and dynamic dielectric behaviour of ferroelectric [NH₂(CH₃)₂]₃Sb₂Br₉(DMABA)

Abstract

The crystal structure of DMABA has been determined at 293 and 180 K. It crystallizes in the monoclinic P21/c space group. The structure was refined to R1 = 0.0466 for 1269 independent reflections at 293 K and R1 = 0.038 for 1728 reflections at 180 K. DMABA is isomorphous with the chlorine analogue, DMACA. Its anionic sublattice forms corrugated two-dimensional layers in the bc plane. There are two crystallographically independent, disordered dimethylammonium cations in the crystal structure. One of them occupies cavities inside the polyanionic layers; the other is located between the layers. The temperature dependence of lattice parameters has been determined between 100 and 290 K. The presence of the ferro-paraelectric phase transition at 164 K has been confirmed. The complex dielectric permittivity of DMABA single crystals in the frequency range 100 Hz-10 GHz between 10 K and 300 K has been measured. The dynamic dielectric behaviour of DMABA is found to be determined by the properties of two independent relaxators: a low frequency one (~1 MHz at Tc) with a critical slowing down of its dynamics and a high frequency one (~5 GHz), which is thermally activated and contributes to the electric permittivity at least from about 80 K.