Influence of processing parameters on the polymer phase, microstructure and macroscopic properties of poly(vinilidene fluoride)/Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 composites

In this work, poly(vinilidene fluoride)/Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3,([PVDF]1 − x/[PZT]x) composites of ceramic volume fractions x and (0–3) type connectivity were prepared in the form of thin films. PZT powders with average grain size of 0.84, 1.86 and 2.35 μm in different volume fraction of PZT (10, 20, 30 and 40%) were mixed with the polymer matrix. The PVDF crystalline phase was the nonpolar α-phase and the polar β-phase. Dielectric measurements were performed and the study revealed that the dielectric constant of the materials strongly increases with increasing PZT particle content. The quasi-static and dynamic mechanical properties of the composites are also strongly dependent on the PZT volume fraction. The grain size of the ceramic particles and the PVDF crystalline phase do not affect significantly neither dielectric nor the mechanical response. Scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry measurements were performed in order to study the distribution of particles within the polymer matrix, the influence of these particles at a molecular level and the variations induced in the melting transition and in the degree of crystallinity of the composites, respectively.