1992/02/01 by R.G. Kepler, R. G. Kepler, R.A. Anderson +1 · 323 citations
Chemistry · Engineering · Materials Science · #Advanced Materials and Mechanics #Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials #Chemistry #Composite material #Copolymer #Crystallography #Dielectric #Ferroelectric polymers #Ferroelectricity #Liquid Crystal Research Advancements #Liquid crystal #Materials science #Monomer #Optoelectronics #Physical chemistry #Piezoelectricity #Polarization (electrochemistry) #Polymer #Polyvinylidene fluoride #Pyroelectricity #Side chain
paper · open access · doi:10.1080/00018739200101463
published in Advances In Physics 41(1), 1-57 (Taylor & Francis)
openalex publication_date 1992/02/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
In the early 1970s it became clear that the polymer polyvinylidene fluoride is ferroelectric. There have been extensive studies of its properties and of the properties of copolymers of vinylidene fluoride with tri- or tetra-fluoroethylene. This work has led to a fairly complete understanding of the ferroelectric and related properties of these materials. The emphasis in this review is on the studies of these materials that are oriented toward showing that the polymers are indeed ferroelectric, determining the mechanism of polarization reversal, and understanding the origins of the observed piezoelectric and pyroelectric effects. Very recently some odd nylons (nylons with an odd number of carbon atoms in the monomer unit) were recognized to be ferroelectric, and ferroelectric liquid-crystalline polymers have been prepared by attaching ferroelectric liquid-crystal molecules as side chains to polymer backbones. These new findings are included in the review.