Effect of fast electron irradiation on the dielectric and pyroelectric response of radially-oriented PVDF film

The radiation-induced functionalization of ferroelectric P(VDF/TrFE) copolymers has been found to be effective in the production of polymer relaxors attractive for applications. We studied radiation-induced changes in the dielectric relaxation and pyroelectric response of radially oriented PVDF film irradiated with 1 MeV and 1.5 MeV electrons. Radiation damage to the samples was characterized by ESR and IR spectroscopy. The radiation-induced downward shift of the Curie temperature and the freezing temperature of segmental motions as well as the increase in the dielectric dispersion were related to the damage in all-trans conformation of the polymer chain and formation of polar regions