Processing‐structure–property relationships in the fabrication of extrusion electroactive poly(vinylidenefluoride) filaments

• Published in: Journal of applied polymer science Vol. 140; no. 21
• Main Authors: Saleh, Aya A., Melenka, Garrett W., Leung, Siu Ning
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 05.06.2023; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Degree of crystallinity; electroactive PVDF; electromechanical energy harvesting; Energy harvesting; Extrusion; Filaments; Fourier transforms; Fused deposition modeling; Infrared analysis; Materials science; microcompounder; Polymers; Polymorphism; Process parameters; Statistical analysis
• ISSN: 0021-8995; 1097-4628
• DOI: 10.1002/app.53885

Poly(vinylidenefluoride) with enhanced electroactive properties is of great interest in energy harvesting and sensing applications. This study aims to elucidate the effects of processing parameters in extrusion, using a desktop extruder or a microcompounder, on the polymorphism of the fabricated poly(vinylidenefluoride) filaments. All samples were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, and electromechanical testing. Statistical analyses were conducted to correlate the processing parameters with the poly(vinylidenefluoride) filaments' crystal structures. Experimental results revealed that the optimal extrusion temperature at 220°C and stretching ratio of 4.5 to 6.5 would yield poly(vinylidenefluoride) filaments with a degree of crystallinity of up to 58% of which 80% is β‐phase crystals. The finding of this manuscript has the potential to promote the use of poly(vinylidenefluoride) filaments in the fused filament fabrication. An illustration of the PVDF process‐structure‐property relationship.