Microstorms in Cellular Polymers: A Route to Soft Piezoelectric Transducer Materials with Engineered Macroscopic Dipoles
Year: 2005
Type: article
Abstract: Cellular polymers can be internally charged by "microstorms" (silent or partial discharges) within the voids of the polymer foam. The resulting material, which carries positive and negative charges on the internal void surfaces, is called a ferroelectret. Ferroelectrets behave like typical ferroelectrics, hence they provide a novel class of ferroic materials. The soft foams are strongly piezoelectric and can be used, in a wide range of applications, as transducers for interconverting mechanical and electrical signals. Herein, an overview is provided on the preparation of cellular polymers by physical foaming (extrusion, biaxial stretching, and controlled inflation by pressure treatments), on their charging by "microstorms", on their piezo- and pyroelectricity, and on analogies to ferroelectrics. Finally, a survey of selected applications is presented.
Source: ChemPhysChem
Authors: Michael Wegener, Siegfried Bauer
Institutions: University of Potsdam, Johannes Kepler University of Linz
Language: English
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funder: European Commission
OpenAlex ID: W1994984170