title: Giant electrostriction and relaxor ferroelectric behavior in electron-irradiated poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) copolymer
abstract: An exceptionally high electrostrictive response ( approximately 4 percent) was observed in electron-irradiated poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE)] copolymer. The material exhibits typical relaxor ferroelectric behavior, suggesting that the electron irradiation breaks up the coherent polarization domain (all-trans chains) in normal ferroelectric P(VDF-TrFE) copolymer into nanopolar regions (nanometer-size, all-trans chains interrupted by trans and gauche bonds) that transform the material into a relaxor ferroelectric. The expanding and contracting of these polar regions under external fields, coupled with a large difference in the lattice strain between the polar and nonpolar phases, generate an ultrahigh strain response.
authors.affiliation: Materials Research Laboratory and Department of Electrical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
authors.initials: QM
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bharti
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhao