THEORY AND PYROELECTRIC CHARACTERIZATION OF POLAR INCLUSION-COMPOUNDSOF PERHYDROTRIPHENYLENE

Markov's theory of stochastic processes has been applied successfully to the understanding of the macroscopically polar nature of a plethora of inclusion compounds formed from perhydrotriphenylene (PHTP) and di polar guest molecules. This theory, supported by experimental data fro m the new technique of 2-dimensional scanning pyroelectric microscopy (SPEM), predicts correctly the formation of 180 degrees macro-domains from seed crystals which do not necessarily need to be polar. The expl anation provided for this long-unsolved phenomenon paves the way to th e rational and controlled design of polar molecular materials for opti cal applications. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.