Kink propagation as a model for poling in poly(vinylidene fluoride)

Abstract

The poling process in $\ensuremath{\beta}$-phase poly(vinylidene fluoride) is studied in two models in which the reorientation of the electric polarization of a crystallite occurs through the propagation of a solitary wave, or kink, of rotation along the chain. While a model considered by Aslaksen, in which the rotation is through 180\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}, does not provide agreement with experiment, a model by Kepler and Anderson, in which the rotation is through 60\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}, yields results not inconsistent with observed poling times.