Effect of heat treatment on the electrical properties of lead zirconate titanate/poly (vinylidene fluoride) composites

Ceramic/polymer composites are attracting increasing interest in materials research and practical applications due to the combination of excellent electric properties of piezoelectric ceramics and good flexibility of polymer matrices. In this case, the crystallization of the polymer has a significant effect on the electric properties of ceramic/polymer composites. Based on different heat treatment methods, the crystallization of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) in composites of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) and PVDF can be controlled effectively. PZT/PVDF composites with various PVDF crystallizations exhibit distinctive dielectric and piezoelectric properties. When the crystallization of PVDF is 21%, the PZT/PVDF composites show a high dielectric constant (epsilon) of 165 and a low dielectric loss (tan delta) of 0.03 at 10(3) Hz, and when the crystallization of PVDF reaches 34%, the piezoelectric coefficient (d(33)) of PZT/PVDF composites can be up to ca 100 pC N-1. By controlling the crystallization of PVDF, PZT/PVDF composites with excellent dielectric and piezoelectric properties were obtained, which can be employed as promising candidates in high-efficiency capacitors and as novel piezoelectric materials. (C) 2010 Society of Chemical Industry