Ferroelectric nematic phase at and below room temperature

We report a liquid crystal 1 that shows ferroelectricity at room temperature. 1 directly enters the ferroelectric nematic phase from the isotropic phase upon cooling, without the formation of a conventional nematic phase. The synthesis, microscopic texture observations and dielectric spectroscopy measurement results of 1 are presented. A relative permittivity of over 20000 is observed in the ferroelectric nematic phase. Together with its low melting point the new liquid crystal will accelerate application research and device prototyping in various directions.