Stereochemically Active Lone Pair Effect of Cations Triggers Giant Rashba–Dresselhaus Spin Splitting in Ferroelectric Semiconductors for Circularly Polarized Light Detection

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Authors: Jia-Hang Wu, Wei Wang, Cheng-Ao Ji, Na Wang, Chang-Chun Fan, Le‐Ping Miao, Qiang-Qiang Bi, Cheng‐Dong Liu, Chao‐Yang Chai, Rui Zuo, Shu-Yin Jia, Xue‐Zeng Lu
+1 more Wen Zhang
Cited by: 11
References: 87

Abstract

ABSTRACT Rashba–Dresselhaus (RD) spin splitting arising from spin‐orbit coupling in spatial inversion asymmetric semiconductors is critical for realizing numerous advanced spintronic applications. However, modulating the RD spin splitting coefficient ( α RD ) is challenging due to the unclear structural‐property relationship. Herein, inspired by highly distorted inorganic selenites containing stereochemically active lone pair (SCALP) electrons, we selected 4‐aminomorpholine cation (4AM) containing SCALP electrons to synthesize a new two‐dimensional (2D) ferroelectric semiconductor (4AM) 2 PbBr 4 , exhibiting a giant α RD of 2.377 eV Å with Δ E RD = 126 meV and Δ k 0 = 0.106 Å −1 that differentiates circularly polarized light‐excited carriers in the momentum space via spin‐dependent optical transition selection rules with an asymmetric factor of 0.65. A geometric structure‐property relationship study reveals that incorporating SCALP into the organic cations enhances their net polarity and induces substantial distortions within the inorganic sublattices that enhance the α RD . This work reveals the regulatory mechanism of organic cations on distortion of inorganic octahedron and provides a new approach for efficient synthesis and rapid screening of 2D ferroelectric semiconductors with large α RD .

Fields of Study & Subjects

2D Materials and Applications Topological Materials and Phenomena Surface Chemistry and Catalysis

Publication details

Journal / source
Advanced Materials
Publisher
Wiley
Volume
38
Issue
17
Pages
e19568–e19568
Publication date
24 February 2026
Language
EN