Fabrication of vertically aligned ferroelectric polyvinylidene fluoride mesoscale rod arrays

• Published in: Journal of applied polymer science Vol. 130; no. 6; pp. 3842 - 3848
• Main Authors: Kim, Dongjin, Hong, Seungbum, Hong, Jongin, Choi, Yoon-Young, Kim, Jiyoon, Park, Moonkyu, Sung, Tae-hyun, No, Kwangsoo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, NJ Blackwell Publishing Ltd 15.12.2013; Wiley; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Aluminum oxide; anodized alumina oxide (AAO); Anodizing; Applied sciences; Arrays; Exact sciences and technology; Ferroelectric materials; Ferroelectricity; Forms of application and semi-finished materials; MATERIALS SCIENCE; mesoscale rods arrays; Miscellaneous; Phases; piezoelectrics; Polymer industry, paints, wood; Polymers; polyvinylidene (PVDF); Polyvinylidene fluorides; Rods; Technology of polymers; Rod; Piezoelectric properties; polyvinylidene (PVDF); anodized alumina oxide (AAO); Crystallinity; Experimental study; Porous material; Oxide ceramics; Array; Piezoelectric materials; Morphology; Vinylidene fluoride polymer; mesoscale rods arrays; piezoelectrics; Solution crystallization; Infiltration; Alumina; Formation mechanism
• ISSN: 0021-8995; 1097-4628
• DOI: 10.1002/app.39415

ABSTRACT We have fabricated vertically aligned ferroelectric PVDF mesoscale rod arrays comprising β and γ phases using a 200 nm diameter anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) as the porous template. We could synthesize the ferroelectric phase in mesoscale rod forms by combining the well‐established recipe for crystallizing the β phase using dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) at low temperature and template‐guided infiltration processing for the rods using AAO. We measured the dimensions of the PVDF rods by scanning electron microscopy and identified the polymorph phases by X‐ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The length of the rods varied from 3.82 μm to 1.09 μm and the diameter from 232 nm to 287 nm when the volume ratio between DMSO and acetone changed from 5 : 5 to 10 : 0. We obtained well‐defined piezoresponse hysteresis loops for all rods with remnant piezoresponse ranging from 2.12 pm/V to 5.04 pm/V and coercive voltage ranging from 2.29 V to 2.71 V using piezoresponse force microscopy. Our results serve as a processing platform for flexible electronic devices that need high capacitance and piezoelectric functionalities such as flexible memory devices or body energy harvesting devices for intelligent systems. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 3842–3848, 2013