Electrically and mechanically driven rotation of polar spirals in a relaxor ferroelectric polymer

Mengfan Guo (), Erxiang Xu, Houbing Huang, Changqing Guo, Hetian Chen, Shulin Chen, Shan He, Le Zhou, Jing Ma, Zhonghui Shen, Ben Xu, Di Yi, Peng Gao, Ce-Wen Nan, Neil. D. Mathur () and Yang Shen ()
Additional contact information
Mengfan Guo: Tsinghua University
Erxiang Xu: Tsinghua University
Houbing Huang: School of Materials Science and Engineering & Advanced Research Institute of Multidisciplinary Science; Beijing Institute of Technology
Changqing Guo: School of Materials Science and Engineering & Advanced Research Institute of Multidisciplinary Science; Beijing Institute of Technology
Hetian Chen: Tsinghua University
Shulin Chen: Hunan University
Shan He: Tsinghua University
Le Zhou: Tsinghua University
Jing Ma: Tsinghua University
Zhonghui Shen: Wuhan University of Technology
Ben Xu: China Academy of Engineering Physics
Di Yi: Tsinghua University
Peng Gao: Peking University
Ce-Wen Nan: Tsinghua University
Neil. D. Mathur: University of Cambridge
Yang Shen: Tsinghua University

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Topology created by quasi-continuous spatial variations of a local polarization direction represents an exotic state of matter, but field-driven manipulation has been hitherto limited to creation and destruction. Here we report that relatively small electric or mechanical fields can drive the non-volatile rotation of polar spirals in discretized microregions of the relaxor ferroelectric polymer poly(vinylidene fluoride-ran-trifluoroethylene). These polar spirals arise from the asymmetric Coulomb interaction between vertically aligned helical polymer chains, and can be rotated in-plane through various angles with robust retention. Given also that our manipulation of topological order can be detected via infrared absorption, our work suggests a new direction for the application of complex materials.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44395-5

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