Enhanced electromechanical properties in all-polymer percolative composites
- 19 April 2004
- journal article
- Published by AIP Publishing in Applied Physics Letters
- Vol. 84 (16), 3124-3126
- https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1702127
Abstract
In this letter, we discuss the enhanced electrostriction and dielectric constant in an all-polymer percolative composite consisting of poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylenechlorotrifluoroethylene) [P(VDF–TrFE–CTFE)] terpolymer matrix and polyaniline (PANI) conductive particles. Using a self-consistent approach, we calculate the dielectric constant and dielectric loss tangent of the composite in excellent agreement with experiments, and demonstrate that the electrostriction enhancement is due to the electric field fluctuation in P(VDF–TrFE–CTFE) matrix, which becomes dominant when the dielectric constant of the second phase is much larger than that of the matrix. The inhomogeneous field distribution in the matrix has also been used to estimate the breakdown field of the composite, which agrees well with experimental measurement. The study could be used to design and optimize electrostrictive composites with optimal electromechanical properties.Keywords
This publication has 11 references indexed in Scilit:
- Micromechanics of ferroelectric polymer-based electrostrictive compositesJournal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 2004
- Exchange Coupling in P(VDF-TrFE) Copolymer Based All-Organic Composites with Giant ElectrostrictionPhysical Review Letters, 2003
- High-dielectric-constant all-polymer percolative compositesApplied Physics Letters, 2003
- Dielectric behavior of three-phase percolative Ni–BaTiO3/polyvinylidene fluoride compositesApplied Physics Letters, 2002
- Dramatically enhanced effective electrostriction in ferroelectric polymeric compositesApplied Physics Letters, 2002
- An all-organic composite actuator material with a high dielectric constantNature, 2002
- Dielectric spectroscopy of conductive polyaniline salt filmsJournal of Applied Polymer Science, 2001
- Electromechanical Response of Electrorheological Fluids and Poly(dimethylsiloxane) NetworksMacromolecules, 2001
- Micromechanical analysis of ionic clustering in Nafion perfluorinated membraneMechanics of Materials, 2000
- Electrostriction: Nonlinear Electromechanical Coupling in Solid DielectricsThe Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 1997