Since the discovery of the first ferroelectric Rochelle salt, most ferroelectrics have been investigated showing thermally triggered symmetry-breaking phase transition. Although photochromism arising from geometrical isomerization was reported as early as 1867, such photoswitchable ferroelectric crystals have scarcely been developed to date. Herein, we report that salicylideneaniline is a photochromic ferroelectric crystal. Upon photoirradiation, the dielectric constant shows obvious switching between high and low dielectric states, and more importantly, the ferroelectric polarization demonstrates quick and reversible switching. This work opens the gate to developing photoswitchable ferroelectrics, which holds great potential for applications in optically controlled smart devices.

中文翻译：

---

水杨基苯胺是一种光控铁电晶体。

自从发现第一个铁电罗谢尔盐以来，大多数铁电体都被研究显示出热触发的对称性破坏相变。尽管早在 1867 年就报道了几何异构化引起的光致变色，但迄今为止，这种可光控的铁电晶体几乎没有被开发出来。在此，我们报告水杨基苯胺是一种光致变色铁电晶体。在光照射下，介电常数在高、低介电状态之间表现出明显的转换，更重要的是，铁电极化表现出快速且可逆的转换。这项工作为开发光可开关铁电体打开了大门，该铁电体在光控智能设备中具有巨大的应用潜力。