Flexoelectric Elastomer Enabled by Miscibility‐Driven Succinonitrile Molecular Rotation

Plastic crystals exhibit long-range positional order alongside orientational disorder, positioning them between crystalline solids and liquids. Although their centrosymmetric structure suppresses intrinsic piezoelectric and ferroelectric effects, they can exhibit flexoelectric behavior under strain gradient. Succinonitrile (SN), a highly polar plastic crystal, is a promising candidate for such applications due to its dynamic molecular nature. While previous studies focused on the rotational dynamics of pure and salt-doped SN, this study explores how covalently crosslinked polymer networks affect the rotational dynamics and resulting flexoelectric properties of SN. Systematic variation of polymer-SN miscibility demonstrates that the microstructure and SN molecular mobility critically influence electromechanical coupling. Among the tested systems, the SN_MMA composite achieves the highest performance, generating 2.79 V and 0.082 µA cm<sup>-</sup> <sup>2</sup> under finger tapping, consistent with its highest flexoelectric coefficient of 22.8 nC m<sup>-1</sup> measured under three-point bending. Morphological observation and dielectric analyses, supported by DFT calculations, reveal that the highest electromechanical coupling performance of SN_MMA arises from the combined effects of interfacial stress localization and preserved orientational freedom. These findings establish design principles for soft, non-piezoelectric materials capable of efficient mechanical-to-electrical energy conversion.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Science
Published
2025-11-07
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202520317
Primary Topic
Nonlocal and gradient elasticity in micro/nano structures
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Flexoelectric Elastomer Enabled by Miscibility‐Driven Succinonitrile Molecular Rotation

Bitgaram Kim, Ji‐Hun Seo, Moon-Seok Jang
Advanced Science
Nonlocal and gradient elasticity in micro/nano structures
article

Flexoelectric Elastomer Enabled by Miscibility‐Driven Succinonitrile Molecular Rotation

Bitgaram Kim, Ji‐Hun Seo, Moon-Seok Jang
article en

Abstract

Plastic crystals exhibit long-range positional order alongside orientational disorder, positioning them between crystalline solids and liquids. Although their centrosymmetric structure suppresses intrinsic piezoelectric and ferroelectric effects, they can exhibit flexoelectric behavior under strain gradient. Succinonitrile (SN), a highly polar plastic crystal, is a promising candidate for such applications due to its dynamic molecular nature. While previous studies focused on the rotational dynamics of pure and salt-doped SN, this study explores how covalently crosslinked polymer networks affect the rotational dynamics and resulting flexoelectric properties of SN. Systematic variation of polymer-SN miscibility demonstrates that the microstructure and SN molecular mobility critically influence electromechanical coupling. Among the tested systems, the SN_MMA composite achieves the highest performance, generating 2.79 V and 0.082 µA cm<sup>-</sup> <sup>2</sup> under finger tapping, consistent with its highest flexoelectric coefficient of 22.8 nC m<sup>-1</sup> measured under three-point bending. Morphological observation and dielectric analyses, supported by DFT calculations, reveal that the highest electromechanical coupling performance of SN_MMA arises from the combined effects of interfacial stress localization and preserved orientational freedom. These findings establish design principles for soft, non-piezoelectric materials capable of efficient mechanical-to-electrical energy conversion.

Advanced ScienceVol. 13(5)
Korea University (KR), University of Chicago (US)
National Research Foundation, National Research Foundation of Korea, Ministry of Education, India
Openalex Percentile: Top 74%
Nonlocal and gradient elasticity in micro/nano structures
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Flexoelectric Elastomer Enabled by Miscibility‐Driven Succinonitrile Molecular Rotation — Bitgaram Kim, Ji‐Hun Seo, et al. · Advanced Science (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS