Bending Electrostriction in Polyurethanes Containing Ions as Contaminants or Additives

Abstract

We demonstrated that the bending electrostriction in polyurethane films is controlled by the ions contained as contaminants or additives. The sample film used in this investigation was composed of a segmented polyester-polyurethane and was coated with a thin gold electrode on each surface by ion-sputtering. Although the application of an electric field (2 MV/m) can caused bending deformation of the film, removal of the ionic contaminants from the polyurethane by electrodialysis reduced the degree of deformation. On the other hand, the addition of a small amount of lithium bromide changed the bending direction.