Giant electrostriction and relaxor ferroelectric behavior in electron-irradiated poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) copolymer

An exceptionally high electrostrictive response (similar to 4 percent) was observed in electron-irradiated poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE)] copolymer. The material exhibits typical relaxer 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 relaxer 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.