Evidence of ferroelectricity and phase transition in pressed diphenylalanine peptide nanotubes

Self-assembled peptide nanotubes (PNT) are unique nanoscale objects having a great potential for a multitude of applications. Strong piezoactivity and polar properties in aromatic dipeptides were recently observed in stand-alone nanotubes using piezoresponse force microscopy and 2 nd harmonic genera...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 2012-01, Vol.100 (4), p.043702-043702-4
Main Authors: Bdikin, Igor, Bystrov, Vladimir, Kopyl, Svitlana, Lopes, Rui P. G., Delgadillo, Ivonne, Gracio, José, Mishina, Elena, Sigov, Alexander, Kholkin, Andrei L.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Self-assembled peptide nanotubes (PNT) are unique nanoscale objects having a great potential for a multitude of applications. Strong piezoactivity and polar properties in aromatic dipeptides were recently observed in stand-alone nanotubes using piezoresponse force microscopy and 2 nd harmonic generation. In this work, we report macroscopic dielectric and polarization vs. field measurements on pressed PNTs before and after annealing at 150°C. The results corroborate nanoscale study and present a clear evidence of ferroelectric-like behaviour and phase transition in this technologically important material. The dielectric constant of PNT pellets obeys apparent Curie-Weiss (CW) law with the CW constant C≈230°C and transition temperature at T≈142°C.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.3676417