Electro-mechanical properties of electron irradiated P(VDF-TrFE) copolymers under different mechanical stresses

The electro-mechanical properties of high energy electron irradiated poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) (P(VF-TrFE)) copolymers under different mechanical stress conditions are reported. In stress free condition, the electric field induced longitudinal and transverse strains of the irradiated P(VDF-TrFE) copolymers films at room temperature (RT) can reach about 5% and more than 3% respectively. The longitudinal strain response of the material under hydrostatic a pressure up to 83 atmospheses was studied at RT. The transverse strain response of the material at RT was studied under uniaxial tensile stress. It was found that the material has a high load capability and for stretched films along the stretching direction the induced strain remains high, even at about 45 MPa. The temperature dependence of the strain response is also characterized. Both the temperature and stress dependence of the strain response indicate that the electric field induced strain response originates from the electric field induced local phase transition.