A detailed investigation of the out-of-plane electrical properties of charge-ordered alpha-(BEDT-TTF)2I3 provides clear evidence for ferroelectricity. Similar to multiferroic alpha-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu[N(CN)2]Cl, the polar order in this material is ascribed
to the occurrence of bond- and site-centered charge order. Dielectric response typical for relaxor ferroelectricity is found deep in the charge-ordered state. We suggest an explanation in terms of the existence of polar and nonpolar stacks of the organic molecules in this material, preventing long-range ferroelectricity. The results are discussed in relation to the formation or absence of electronic polar order in related charge-transfer salts.
The recently proposed multiferroic state of the charge-transfer salt {kappa}-(BEDT-TTF)$_2$Cu[N(CN)$_2$]Cl [P. Lunkenheimer et al., Nature Mater., vol. 11, pp. 755-758, Sept. 2012] has been studied by dc-conductivity, magnetic susceptibility and meas
urements of the dielectric constant on various, differently prepared single crystals. In the majority of crystals we confirm the existence of an order-disorder-type ferroelectric state which coincides with antiferromagnetic order. This phenomenology rules out scenarios which consider an inhomogeneous, short-range-ordered ferroelectric state. Measurements of the dielectric constant and the magnetic susceptibility on the same crystals reveal that both transitions lie very close to each other or even collapse, indicating that both types of order are intimately coupled to each other. We address issues of the frequency dependence of the dielectric constant {epsilon} and the dielectric loss {epsilon} and discuss sample-to-sample variations.
