Gradient scaling phenomenon of piezoelectricity in non-piezoelectric polyvinylidene fluoride films

TL;DR

This study reports the experimental observation of a gradient scaling phenomenon of piezoelectricity in non-piezoelectric PVDF films, highlighting how flexoelectric effects can induce piezoelectric responses in reduced-dimensional materials.

Contribution

The paper presents the first experimental evidence of gradient scaling of piezoelectricity in non-piezoelectric PVDF films due to flexoelectric effects.

Findings

Piezoelectric response increases with reduced film thickness.

Flexoelectricity can induce measurable piezoelectricity in non-piezoelectric materials.

Gradient scaling phenomenon observed experimentally in PVDF films.

Abstract

It has been well known that flexoelectricity can be exploited to generate an analogous piezoelectric response in non-piezoelectric materials. For the direct flexoelectric effect, the induced electric polarization is linearly proportional to the applied strain gradient. Therefore, it is logical to expect that such a piezoelectric response would be enhanced in the materials with reduced dimensions. In this paper, we will report our experimental observation of such a gradient scaling phenomenon of piezoelectricity in non-piezoelectric polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) films.