Electric polarizations in PVDF-TrFE nanorods under lateral nanoshaping

Abstract

Horizontal, single-dimensional, trianglelike poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) (PVDF-TrFE) nanorods are prepared under lateral nanoconfinement induced by faceted m-plane sapphire surfaces. X-ray diffraction reciprocal space mappings reveal that the polymer contains polycrystalline ferroelectric β-phase PVDF. Depolarizing fields induce different polarizations in polymer nanorods along the out-of-plane and in-plane directions. The differences are characterized using vector piezoresponse force microscopy. The depolarizing fields in the lateral PVDF-TrFE nanorods are further discussed in theory. Our results suggest that a nanofaceted m-plane sapphire can be an alternative template to induce the depolarizing fields for future nanosacle devices.

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“…Among the piezoelectric materials, this copolymer demonstrated the highest electroactive properties with a piezoelectric coefficient as high as 30 pC/N [207]. PVDF-TrFE forms the β-phase through copolymerization without the need for mechanical stretching or drawing [208].…”