Over the years, there has been a steady and high interest in the physics and applications of ferro- and piezoelectric materials. The focus of research has mainly been on inorganic ceramics, which typically contain lead and/or other toxic elements. The quest for a lead-free piezo- and ferroelectrics has intensified research on molecular organic alternatives. In addition, organics offer several unique features such as the absence of rare/expensive elements, the virtually infinite freedom of design offered by organic chemistry, the facile solution-based processing which, in combination with their inherent softness and flexibility, allows for application in wearable electronics, e-textiles, conformal and/or flexible electronics.

A large community of chemists, physicists and materials scientists are actively exploring molecular piezo- and ferroelectrics that includes organic small molecules, polymers, polymer coordinated frameworks, metal-organic frameworks, liquid crystals, and last but not least supramolecular systems. This symposium aims to bring all these researchers under an umbrella to exchange ideas and discuss new findings. The target of the symposium is to provide an interdisciplinary platform for scientists from both academia and industry to discuss the science and applications of molecular organic piezo- and ferroelectric materials.

differential thermal analysis (DTA) elastic properties ferroelectric memory nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) organic piezoelectric x-ray diffraction (XRD)