Solution-processed transparent ferroelectric nylon thin films.

Ferroelectricity, a bistable ordering of electrical dipoles in a material, is widely used in sensors, actuators, nonlinear optics, and data storage. Traditional ferroelectrics are ceramic based. Ferroelectric polymers are inexpensive lead-free materials that offer unique features such as the freedom of design enabled by chemistry, the facile solution-based low-temperature processing, and mechanical flexibility.

Functional Group Distribution and Gradient Structure Resulting from the Living Anionic Copolymerization of Styrene and -But-3-enyl Styrene.

The functional group distribution along the polymer backbone resulting from the living anionic copolymerization of styrene (S) and -but-3-enyl styrene (BuS) was investigated in cyclohexane at room temperature. A variety of copolymers with different comonomer contents (S) = 0-0.84 have been synthesized with molecular weight dispersities / ≤1.