Flexoelectricity causes surface piezoelectric-like effects in dielectrics

TL;DR

This paper investigates how bulk flexoelectric effects in finite dielectric samples induce surface-like piezoelectric responses, revealing boundary layer phenomena caused by size and surface symmetry-breaking.

Contribution

It demonstrates that finite size and surface effects lead to electromechanical responses in flexoelectric materials, with analytical solutions showing surface piezoelectric-like boundary layers.

Findings

Finite samples exhibit surface piezoelectric-like boundary layers.

Homogeneous loading does not induce response in infinite flexoelectric bodies.

Surface effects are significant in finite flexoelectric dielectrics.

Abstract

In this paper we study the surface effects that bulk flexoelectric models in finite samples exhibit. We first show that when the body is infinite, flexoelectric materials do not exhibit electromechanical response under homogeneous loading. However, when the size of the body is finite, due to the symmetry-breaking nature of surfaces, homogeneous loading (mechanical or electrical) can cause an electromechanical response near the surfaces. We obtain closed-form solutions for finite samples under different electromechanical loading conditions, and show that the electromechanical response caused by the bulk flexoelectric effect is reminiscent of surface piezoelectricity, causing boundary layers in certain components of the strains and/or electric fields near the free surfaces.