Regular BiBr5 chains of trans-connected octahedra are stabilized by methyviologen cations. The Bi3+ electron lone pair is sterochemically activated below −30 °C, leading to an acentric polar phase, and this is correlated with an increase of the band gap, and with the transfer from a para- to a ferroelectric phase.

A giant tetrahedral heterometallic polyoxometalate (POM) [Dy30 Co8 Ge12 W108 O408 (OH)42 (OH2 )30 ](56-) , which shows single-molecule magnet (SMM) behavior, is described. This hybrid contains the largest number of 4f ions of any polyoxometalate (POM) reported to date and is the first to incorporate two different 3d-4f and 4f coordination cluster assemblies within same POM framework.

The search for hybrid organic-inorganic materials, which have the great advantage that they can be synthesized at moderate temperature (T < 200 °C), remains a great challenge in the field of ferroelectrics. Here, a room-temperature ferroelectric material with interesting characteristics, (MV)[BiI(3)Cl(2)] (MV(2+) = methylviologen), is reported. Its structure is based on polar inorganic chains resulting from a remarkable Cl/I segregation induced by methylviologen entities, which coincide with the fourfold polar axis of the tetragonal structure. Of great importance is that this room-temperature hybrid ferroelectric displays a clear electrical hysteresis loop with a large spontaneous polarization (>15 μC·cm(-2)).