Search NASA⌕ Search
Home/Archive/DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI · 2587795

Fluorine-free strongly dipolar polymers exhibit tunable ferroelectricity

Huang, Jiahao [Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH (United States)] (ORCID:0000000193265320)·Rui, Guanchun [Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH (United States); Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States); Arkema, King of Prussia, PA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000240972205)·Yan, Yueming [Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000221580177)·Allahyarov, Elshad [Heinrich-Heine Univ., Dusseldorf (Germany); Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Moscow (Russian Federation); Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH (United States)] (ORCID:0000000172124713)·Kwok, Man-Hin [Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH (United States)] (ORCID:0000000299382648)·Zhu, Wenyi [Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000323563159)·Li, Li [Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000260889214)·Zhang, Shixian [Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000324104560)·Pan, Zhiliang [Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000261542765)·Li, Deyu [Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000183640924)·Zhang, Honghu [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II)] (ORCID:0000000317847825)·Mu, Richard R. [Tennessee State Univ., Nashville, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000282865934)·Zhao, Bin [Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000155059390)·Wang, Qing [Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000259683235)·Taylor, Philip L. [Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH (United States)] (ORCID:0000000150602833)·Haglund, Richard F. [Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000227011768)·Zhang, Q. M. [Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000271500817)·Zhu, Lei [Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH (United States)] (ORCID:0000000165709123)
View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Current research on ferroelectric polymers centers predominantly on poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)–based fluoropolymers because of their superior performance. However, they are considered “forever chemicals” with environmental concerns. Here, we describe a family of rationally designed fluorine-free ferroelectric polymers, featuring a polyoxypropylene main chain and disulfonyl alkyl side chains with a C3 spacer: −SO 2 CH 2 CHRCH 2 SO 2 − (R = −H or −CH 3 ). Both experimental and simulation results demonstrate that strong dipole-dipole interactions between neighboring disulfonyl groups induce ferroelectric ordering in the condensed state, which can be tailored by changing the R group: ferroelectric for R = −H or relaxor ferroelectric for R = −CH 3 . At low electric fields, the relaxor polymer exhibits electroactuation and electrocaloric performance comparable with those of state-of-the-art PVDF-based tetrapolymers.

Explore related subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Huang, Jiahao [Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH (United States)] (ORCID:0000000193265320), Rui, Guanchun [Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH (United States); Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States); Arkema, King of Prussia, PA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000240972205), Yan, Yueming [Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000221580177), Allahyarov, Elshad [Heinrich-Heine Univ., Dusseldorf (Germany); Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Moscow (Russian Federation); Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH (United States)] (ORCID:0000000172124713), Kwok, Man-Hin [Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH (United States)] (ORCID:0000000299382648), Zhu, Wenyi [Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000323563159), Li, Li [Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000260889214), Zhang, Shixian [Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000324104560), Pan, Zhiliang [Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000261542765), Li, Deyu [Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000183640924), Zhang, Honghu [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II)] (ORCID:0000000317847825), Mu, Richard R. [Tennessee State Univ., Nashville, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000282865934), Zhao, Bin [Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000155059390), Wang, Qing [Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000259683235), Taylor, Philip L. [Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH (United States)] (ORCID:0000000150602833), Haglund, Richard F. [Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000227011768), Zhang, Q. M. [Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000271500817), Zhu, Lei [Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH (United States)] (ORCID:0000000165709123). 2025-07-03. Fluorine-free strongly dipolar polymers exhibit tunable ferroelectricity. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ads4702

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related reports

DOE OSTI2026

Cyclic moisture reactivation of calcium sorbents for long duration thermochemical energy storage

The transition to a flexible and reliable energy infrastructure, using electro-thermal energy generation technologies such as geothermal, concentrated solar power, and nuclear, usually demands simultaneous advancement of thermal energy storage (TES) to support on-demand electricity generation and industrial applications while mitigating the inherent intermittency of renewable energy sources and power outages from direct energy generation. Among TES technologies, thermochemical energy storage (TCES) based on calcium looping emerges as a compelling high-power energy storage candidate due to its high reaction enthalpy, compatibility with elevated operating temperatures, and abundance of low-cost materials. However, the long-term durability of calcium-based sorbents for TCES is hindered by surface sintering and particle aggregation, leading to performance degradation over repeated thermal cycles. This study explores a moisture hydration-based strategy to regenerate a degraded calcium sorbent and mitigate performance degradation for long duration TCES. The addition of moisture transforms calcium oxide into calcium hydroxide and produces intercalation water layers, associated with a regenerated surface area and reduced calcium oxide crystallite size. Both these effects are beneficial in restoring the sorbents' reactivity for carbonization. Additionally, an optimized hydration-assisted reactivation protocol balances the recovered energy storage capacity with heating penalty required for moisture removal from hydrated samples, resulting in an enhanced energy storage capacity up to 176% compared to benchmark sorbents that undergo cycling without reactivation after 60 cycles. In conclusion, these results highlight the potential of hydration-assisted reactivation to enhance the long-term performance of TCES, providing an effective pathway to advancing electro-thermal storage technologies.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗