Mechanical properties and connectivity evaluation of a conductive coated piezoceramic/polymer composite

In the present work, piezoelectric composite films made of Polyaniline (PAni) coated Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) particles immersed into polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) matrix were characterized by mechanical tests, and the connectivity of the composite sample was determined using dielectric measurements and applying the Poon-Shin model. The composite was considered a binary system with coated PZT particles as one phase and the polymer matrix the other one. To support the result obtained from theoretical analysis, scanning electron microscopy of the composites were done. It was observed a decrease up to 85% on the mechanical resistance when the ceramic volume fraction increases from 0% to 40%. Furthermore, the composite film no longer can be considered with 0-3 connectivity when the ceramic content is 30 vol.% or over.