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

Cu ₄ I ₄ cubane-type secondary building units are reticulated with a piperazine linker at room temperature to crystallize the metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) Cu ₄ I ₄ (Pip) ₂ in a non-centrosymmetric P 6 ₂ 22 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 ( d ₃₃ ) ∼52.33 pm V ^-1 , highlighting its potential for mechanical energy harvesting processes.