Confinement Effects of Polyvinylidene Fluoride-Co- Trifluoroethylene Nanorods

POSTER

Abstract

Polyvinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene (PVdF-TrFE) readily crystallizes into the ferroelectric $\beta $ crystal phase and the crystallization and properties of PVdF-TrFE are affected by confinement. PVdF-TrFE nanorods were made by wetting and filling anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) templates that ranged in pore diameter from 15nm to 200nm. Modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to analyze the effect of confinement on the transitions and structure. The ferroelectric and piezoelectric behavior of confined PVdF-TrFE nanorods was investigated using a high voltage displacement measuring fixture and results were compared to the bulk film. Crystallization within confined PVdF-TrFE nanorods was increasingly suppressed in smaller diameter pores, while the ferroelectric-paraelectric Curie transition remained invariant.

Authors

  • Kathleen McEnnis

    University of Massachusetts Amherst

  • Jodie Lutkenhaus

    Yale University, Yale

  • Thomas Russell

    University of Massachusetts Amherst, Univ. Massachusetts Amherst, Dept. of Polymer Sci. Eng., University of Massachusetts, Polymer Science and Engineering Department, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, University of Massuchusetts at Amherst, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Polymer Science and Engineering Department, University of Massachusetts-Amherst