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