Tailoring electrically induced properties by stretching relaxor polymer films

Electrically induced behavior was investigated and compared in the non-stretched and uniaxially stretched poly(vinylidene fluoride- trifluoroethylene-chlorofluoroethylene), P(VDF-TrFE-CFE) terpolymer-a member of the P(VDF-TrFE)-based relaxor polymers family that exhibits fast response speeds, giant electrostriction, high electric energy density, and large electrocaloric effect. Although the temperature dependence of the low-field complex dielectric constant is almost identical in the non-stretched and stretched samples, the dc bias electric field via higher nonlinear contribution more heavily alters the dielectric response of the non-stretched terpolymer. The polarization response and, particularly, the induced electrostrictive strain are, on the other hand, much higher in the more-oriented stretched films. The changes in polar-correlation range induced by film stretching also strongly influence the directly measured electrocaloric response, which shows more pronounced temperature dependence in the stretched terpolymer. These results suggest that electrically induced properties of relaxor polymer films can be tailored by controlling the preparation conditions.