Researchers may have found a way to reduce the negative environmental impact of electronic devices. Massimo Capone and Gianluca Giovannetti of Istituto Officina dei Materiali at CNR and of the International School for Advanced Studies of Trieste (SISSA) have created a new ferroelectric material called diisopropylammonium bromide (DIPAB) that can be used in electronic devices.
DIPAB, defined as a molecular crystal, can replace materials typically employed like barium or titanium oxides which typically have a drastic effect on the environment as well as requiring a complex environment for their production.
Instead of a single atom, DIPAB contains an entire molecule. This is crucial because the molecule’s ‘tail’ can orient themselves in such a way that favors polarization, which will lead to molecular compounds replacing oxides.
The researchers believe that if the response time at the processing stage can be improved, DIPAB may replace conventional materials.
Capone and Giovannetti do acknowledge the process still shows some small errors but further study and improving such aspect DIPAB might lead to mainstream use, like in the production of computer memory and may lead to tangential use in devices based on superconductors.
Capone and Giovannetti’s findings were published in the January issue of Science magazine.
