Molecular mobility interpretation of the dielectric relaxor behavior in fluorinated copolymers and terpolymers

Thermo Stimulated Current and Dynamic Dielectric Spectroscopy have been applied to investigate dielectric relaxation modes of poly(vinylidene-fluoride-trifluoroethylene) copolymer and poly(vinylidene-fluoride-trifluoroethylene-chlorofluoroethylene) terpolymer. The aim of this work is to check the molecular origin of the ferroelectric relaxor behavior of the terpolymer. The combination of data obtained by both dielectric methods allows us to describe the molecular mobility of the amorphous phase and the cooperativity of the order/disorder dipolar transition in the crystalline phase. The introduction of 1,1-chlorofluoroethylene units in the main chain induces an increase of the Cooperative Rearranging Region size associated with less ordered and smaller crystallites. This morphological evolution is responsible of a lack of cooperativity and it explains the dielectric relaxor behavior of the poly(vinylidene-fluoride-trifluoroethylene-chloroethylene) terpolymer. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.