Electromechanical properties of electrostrictive poly(vinylidenefluoride-trifluoroethylene) copolymer

We report a large electrostrictive strain in electron irradiated poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) copolymer at a composition with 65 mol % vinylidene fluoride, which also exhibits a large ratio of strain to applied field (similar to 275 pm/V). The strain response is nearly independent of the external driving condition (unipolar or bipolar field) and does not change with temperature in about 20 degrees C temperature range near room temperature. Moreover, near room temperature, the material can reach a relatively high quasistatic longitudinal electromechanical coupling factor k(33)similar to 0.33