Controlling Dielectric Loss and Ionic Conductivity through Processing Optimization of Electrostrictive Polymers

Electro-active polymers (EAPs) such as P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) was demonstrated to be greatly promising in the field of flexible sensors and actuators[1], but their low dielectric strength driven by ionic conductivity is main concern for achieving high electrostrictive performance. The well-known quadratic dependence of applied electric field on strain response as well as mechanical energy density highlights the importance of improving EAPs electrical breakdown while reducing the leakage current. This paper demonstrates that by controlling processing parameters of polymer synthesis and fabrication procedure, it is possible to drastically increase the electrical breakdown and decrease the ionic conductivity, giving rise to an enhancement in breakdown voltage of around 64% and a reduction in leakage current intensity of 73% at 30V/mu m. Effect of polymer crystallinity, molecular mass, as well as crystallization temperature on leakage current were also investigated.