Tailored Ferroelectric Responses and Enhanced Energy Density in PVDF-Based Homopolymer/Terpolymer Blends

Blend of polymers is an effective way to tailor the ferroelectric responses and improve the energy storage properties of polymers. In this work, the microstructure and dielectric responses of the blends of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene-chlorofluoroethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE-CFE)] have been studied. It is found that the addition of PVDF disturbs the crystallization process of P(VDF-TrFE-CFE), leading to lower crystallinity and smaller crystalline size. The aforementioned microstructure changes result in tailored ferroelectric responses. Dielectric responses show that the blend with 10 wt % PVDF achieves larger polarization response under high electric field (above 300 MV/m) due to the interfacial polarization. Because of the tailoring effect and the interfacial polarization, the blend with 10 wt % PVDF exhibits higher energy density and efficiency. Moreover, the breakdown strength (E-b) is also improved by adding a small amount of PVDF into the terpolymer. (C) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.