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International audience; The flexoelectric effect is simply defined as the coupling between the strain gradient and polarization in solid dielectrics. It may be seen as an alternative transduction mechanism to the piezoelectric effect to directly sense the curvature of bent flexible thin structures. In the case of large curvatures, flexible and compliant sensors are required and soft polar elastomers may be suitable for curvature sensing. In this study, we report the flexoelectric characterization of soft semi-crystalline polyurethane (PU) films with thicknesses ranging from 1.7 μm to 350 μm. Dynamic bending experiments have been performed on PU films deposited onto rigid steel substrates in the vicinity of the mechanical resonance frequency of the cantilever beams. Quasi-static flexoelectric coefficients of PU films could be obtained by using a classical oscillating model. A global large increase of μ′12 with the decreasing film thickness was found, especially for thicknesses lower than 25 μm. The variation of μ′12 is explained by the presence of a Young's Modulus gradient through the thickness of PU films. Besides, a concomitant uncommon dramatic decrease in the dielectric constant is observed. The combination of these two effects contributes to enhancing the flexocoupling “F” constant with the decreasing thickness. At last, the potential use of a 6.6 μm-thick soft PU film as a large curvature sensor has been experimentally demonstrated by subjecting a flexible Aluminum foil/Polyethylene terephthalate bilayered cantilever to large deflections. A curvature of about 80 m−1 (radius of curvature of ∼1.2 cm) could be sensed under low frequency (3 Hz) bending motion. These results may pave the way for the development of low cost and easy to implement soft flexoelectric elastomer-based large curvature sensors on highly flexible metallic structures.

The X-ray powder diffraction pattern shows that at room temperature, [N(CH3)3H]2ZnCl4 is crystallized in the orthorhombic system with Pnma space group. The phase transitions at T1 = 255 K, T2 = 282 K, T3 = 302 K, T4 = 320 K, and T5 = 346 K have been confirmed by the differential scanning calorimetry. The electrical technique was measured in the 10−1–107 Hz frequency range and 233–363 K temperature intervals. The temperature dependence of the dielectric constant at different temperatures proved that this compound is ferroelectric below 282 K. Besides, [N(CH3)3 H]2ZnCl4 shows classical ferroelectric behaviour near curie temperature. In order to characterize the phase transitions, Raman spectra have been recorded in the temperature range of 233–383 K and the frequency range related to the internal and external vibrations of the cations and anions (90–4000 cm−1). The temperature dependence of the Raman line shifts ν and the half-width Δν detects all phase transitions and confirms their nature, especially at 2...

The [N(CH3)3H]2CuCl4 single crystal has been analyzed by X-ray powder diffraction patterns, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and electrical impedance spectroscopy. [N(CH3)3H]2CuCl4 crystallizes at room temperature in the monoclinic system with P21/C space group. Three phase transitions at T1 = 226 K, T2 = 264 K, and T3 = 297 K have been evidenced by DSC measurements. The electrical technique was measured in the 10−1–107 Hz frequency range and 203–313 K temperature intervals. The frequency dependence of alternative current (AC) conductivity is interpreted in terms of Jonscher's law (developed). The AC electrical conduction in [N(CH3)3H]2CuCl4 compound is studied by two processes which can be attributed to a hopping transport mechanism: the correlated barrier hopping model in phases I, II, and III, the non-overlapping small polaron tunneling model in phase IV. The conduction mechanism is interpreted with the help of Elliot's theory, and the Elliot's parameters are found.