Evolution of relaxor ferroelectric behavior of poly(vinylidene fluoride trifluoroethylene chlorofluoroethylene) terpolymer nanorods

Abstract

The evolution of relaxor ferroelectric behavior of poly(vinylidene fluoride trifluoroethylene chlorofluoroethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE-CFE)] terpolymer nanorods with diameters reduced from 200 to 25 nm was investigated. It was observed that all the nanorods studied exhibited relaxor ferroelectric behavior, as characterized by the dielectric peak shifting toward high temperatures with increasing frequency. The frequency-permittivity peak temperature characteristics fit well with the Vogel–Fulcher (VF) relation. Moreover, the freezing temperature in the VF relation decreased with the reduction of nanorod diameter, indicating that the scaling down of the lateral size of nanorods influenced the relaxor ferroelectric behavior of the terpolymer.