Abstract
Spontaneous polarization P of mixed polymer crystals based on β poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF, -CH2-CF2-) and 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene (TFP, -CH2-CF(CF3)-) was evaluated for β-PVDF/iso-PTFP, β-PVDF/P(VDF-alt-iso-TFP) and β-PVDF/syndio-PTFP. A plane-wave-based density-functional theory (DFT) approach, combined with the Modern Theory of Polarization formalism utilizing maximally-localized Wannier functions for calculating P, indicates that all systems exhibit similarly high or even slightly larger polarization than that of perfectly crystalline β-PVDF (0.18 C m-2). These properties stem from the substantial dipole moment of the TFP unit, which is estimated to be ∼2.3 D in an isolated chain, but is enhanced to ∼2.8 D in the crystal.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2484-2491 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Soft Matter |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue number | 13 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2018 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
A. D. A. acknowledges financial support from the National Science Foundation (CHE-1309769).