Structural, optical and electrical properties of MgCl2 doped polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) composites

Pure and Mg doped polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) composite films were prepared by solution casting method. The doping concentration of MgCl2 was varied from 2 to 8 wt%. The composite films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), UV–Vis spectroscopy and I–V measurements. The XRD spectra reveal the presence of α and β phase in semi crystalline structure. FESEM indicates the decrease in crystallite size of doped PVDF films with increase in MgCl2 concentration. The optical band gap was calculated using Tauc plot which indicates the increase in value of band gap with subsequent increase in Mg content. The electrical impedance and current measurements were carried out to investigate the piezoelectric response of PVDF composite films.