Inducing piezoelectric behavior in a copper iodide cubane cluster-based metal–organic framework via linker engineering.

Cu4I4 cubane-type secondary building units are reticulated with a piperazine linker at room temperature to crystallize the metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) Cu4I4(Pip)2 in a non-centrosymmetric P6222 space group. For the first time, cubane cluster type MOF's strong piezoelectric nature has been studied by switching spectroscopy piezo force microscopy (SS-PFM) and piezo force microscopy (PFM) mapping of the crystal, with piezoelectric constant (d33) ∼52.33 pm V−1, highlighting its potential for mechanical energy harvesting processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]