Tailoring electrically-induced properties by stretching relaxor polymer films

Electrically-induced behaviuor was compared in the non-stretched and uniaxially stretched poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylenechlorofluoroethylene) terpolymer a member of the relaxor polymer family that exhibits fast response speeds, a giant electrostriction, high electric energy density and a large electrocaloric effect. Although the temperature dependence of the low-field dielectric constant is almost identical, the dc bias electric field via a higher nonlinear contribution more heavily alters the dielectric response of the less-oriented non-stretched samples. Substantial differences in the polarization, electrocaloric response and induced electrostrictive strain of the non-stretched and stretched terpolymer suggest that electrically-induced properties of relaxor polymer films can be tailored by controlling the preparation conditions.