Shear piezoelectricity in poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-trifluoroethylene): full piezotensor coefficients by molecular modeling, biaxial transverse response, and use in suspended energy-harvesting nanostructures

TL;DR

This paper investigates the shear piezoelectric properties of poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-trifluoroethylene), providing full piezotensor coefficients through molecular modeling and demonstrating their application in energy-harvesting nanostructures.

Contribution

It offers the first comprehensive molecular-level analysis of shear piezoelectricity in this copolymer and explores its use in flexible, suspended nanowire energy harvesters.

Findings

Full piezoelectric tensors calculated for the copolymer.

Demonstrated coupling of flexural deformation with transverse piezoelectric response.

Potential application in flexible energy-harvesting nanostructures.

Abstract

The intrinsic flexible character of polymeric materials also causes remarkable strain deformations along directions perpendicular to the applied stress. Here the biaxial response in the shear piezoelectricity of polyvinylidenefluoride copolymers is analyzed and their full piezoelectric tensors are provided. The microscopic shear is exploited in single suspended nanowires bent by localized loading to couple flexural deformation and transverse piezoelectric response.