Properties of Intercalated Montmorillonite/Poly(Vinylidene Fluoride-Trifluoroethylene) Nanocomposites

ABSTRACT

Montmorillonite (MMT)/poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) 0–3 nanocomposites with 1 wt% and 4 wt% of MMT embedded in a P(VDFTrFE) matrix have been fabricated. Na⁺-MMT was first modified with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) before being incorporated into the P(VDF-TrFE) (80/ 20 mol%) copolymer. The composites were characterized by means of X-ray diffractometry and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The relative permittivity, polarization hysteresis, piezoelectric coefficient and pyroelectric coefficient have also been measured. The X-ray diffraction patterns show that P(VDF-TrFE) copolymer chains have been intercalated into the layered nanostructures of the CTAB treated MMT. The DSC thermograms indicate that the Curie temperature of the nanocomposites is higher than that of the pure copolymer. The relative permittivity and remnant polarization of the nanocomposites are found to increase with the amount of MMT. The piezoelectric coefficient and pyroelectric coefficient are also enhanced in the MMT/P(VDF-TrFE) nanocomposites.

Keywords:

• Intercalation
• nanocomposite
• P(VDF-TrFE)}

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This work was supported by the Center for Smart Materials of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.