Polymers, piezoelectric properties

Making the PVDF polymer piezoelectric and pyroelectric requires some very special processing, which makes it costly ( 10 per square foot). This expense seems a small price to pay for its near-magical properties. ... 

Zinc oxide (ZnO, wurtzite structure) eliminates oxygen on heating to form nonstoichio-metric colored phases, Zni+xO with x < 70 ppm. ZnO is almost transparent and is used as white pigment, polymer stabilizer, emollient in zinc ointments, creams and lotions, as well as in the production of Zu2Si04 for TV screens. A major application is in the rubber industry to lower the temperatures and to raise the rate of vulcanization. Furthermore, it is an n-type semiconductor (band gap 3.37 eV) and shows piezoelectric properties, making zinc oxide useful for microsensor devices and micromachined actuators. Other applications include gas sensors , solar cell windows and surface acoustic devices. ZnO has also been considered for spintronic application because of theoretical predictions of room-temperature ferromagnetism . 

Chlorotrifluoroethylene monomer serves as a building block for the CTFE telomer oils as well as the solid higher polymer and various copolymers. CFC-113 also may be used in the production of trifluoroethylene monomer by vapor-phase reduction using hydrogen and a precious metal catalyst, usually palladium [reaction (9)]. Copolymers of trifluoroethylene and vinylidene fluoride show interesting piezoelectric properties. 

The effects of simultaneous AO/VUV exposure of the two vinylidene fluoride based polymers were also examined. In both cases significant weight loss and surface erosion resulted from AO attack. Erosion yields were 2.8xl0 24 cm3/atom for PVDF and 2.5x1 O 24 cm3/atom for P(VDF-TrFE), consistent with previous literature data for similar materials. The film orientation of PVDF samples was reflected in the surface topology features after exposure, while the less orientated P(VDF-TrFE) samples had less regular surface patterning after exposure. Significantly, neither AO nor VUV irradiation dramatically altered the piezoelectric properties and we propose that these materials should perform satisfactorily under moderate LEO conditions. 

In this section, examples of films made from polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) are discussed. Although most of the pol5winylidene fluoride film is in the form of coating on metal substrates, stand-alone PVDF films and sheets are produced by extrusion and film blowing.1 ] ] Blends of PVDF and a number of other polymers such as polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) are miscible. Films made from these blends have excellent piezoelectric properties. 

For the purpose of this discussion, we will classify polymers into three broad groups addition polymers, condensation polymers, and special polymers. By convention, polymers whose main chains consist entirely of C-C bond are addition polymers, whereas those in which hetero atoms (e.g., O, N, S, Si) are present in the polymer backbone are considered to be condensation polymers. Grouped as special polymers are those products which have special properties, such as temperature and fire resistance, photosensitivity, electrical conductivity, and piezoelectric properties, or which possess specific reactivities to serve as functional polymers. 

Su J, Ma ZY, Scheinbeim JI, Newman BA (1995) Ferroelectric tmd piezoelectric properties of nylon ll/poly(vinylidene fluoride) bilaminate films. J Polym Sci B 33 85... 

Conduction and dielectric properties are not the only electrical properties that polymers can exhibit. Some polymers, in common with certain other types of materials, can exhibit ferroelectric properties, i.e. they can acquire a permanent electric dipole, or photoconductive properties, i.e. exposure to light can cause them to become conductors. Ferroelectric materials also have piezoelectric properties, i.e. there is an interaction between their states of stress or strain and the electric field across them. All of these properties have potential applications but they are not considered further in this book. 

Pyro- and Piezoelectric Properties The electric field application on a ferroelectric nanoceramic/polymer composite creates a macroscopic polarization in the sample, responsible for the piezo- and pyroelectricity of the composite. It is possible to induce ferroelectric behavior in an inert matrix [Huang et al., 2004] or to improve the piezo-and pyroelectricity of polymers. Lam and Chan [2005] studied the influence of lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate (PMN-PT) particles on the ferroelectric properties of a PVDF-TrFE matrix. The piezoelectric and pyroelectric coefficients were measured in the electrical field direction. The Curie point of PVDF-TrFE and PMN-PT is around 105 and 120°C, respectively. Different polarization procedures are possible. As the signs of piezoelectric coefficients of ceramic and copolymer are opposite, the poling conditions modify the piezoelectric properties of the sample. In all cases, the increase in the longitudinal piezoelectric strain coefficient, 33, with ceramic phase poled) at < / = 0.4, the piezoelectric coefficient increases up to 15 pC/N. The decrease in da for parallel polarization is due primarily to the increase in piezoelectric activity of the ceramic phase with the volume fraction of PMN-PT. The maximum piezoelectric coefficient was obtained for antiparallel polarization, and at < / = 0.4 of PMN-PT, it reached 30pC/N. 

Piezoelectricity links the fields of electricity and acoustics. Piezoelectric materials are key components in acoustic transducers such as microphones, loudspeakers, transmitters, burglar alarms and submarine detectors. The Curie brothers [7] in 1880 first observed the phenomenon in quartz crystals. Langevin [8] in 1916 first reported the application of piezoelectrics to acoustics. He used piezoelectric quartz crystals in an ultrasonic sending and detection system - a forerunner to present day sonar systems. Subsequently, other materials with piezoelectric properties were discovered. These included the crystal Rochelle salt [9], the ceramics lead barium titanate/zirconate (pzt) and barium titanate [10] and the polymer poly(vinylidene fluoride) [11]. Other polymers such as nylon 11 [12], poly(vinyl chloride) [13] and poly (vinyl fluoride) [14] exhibit piezoelectric behavior, but to a much smaller extent. Strain constants characterize the piezoelectric response. These relate a vector quantity, the electrical field, to a tensor quantity, the mechanical stress (or strain). In this convention, the film orientation direction is denoted by 1, the width by 2 and the thickness by 3. Thus, the piezoelectric strain constant dl3 refers to a polymer film held in the orientation direction with the electrical field applied parallel to the thickness or 3 direction. The requirements for observing piezoelectricity in materials are a non-symmetric unit cell and a net dipole movement in the structure. There are 32-point groups, but only 30 of these have non-symmetric unit cells and are therefore capable of exhibiting piezoelectricity. Further, only 10 out of these twenty point groups exhibit both piezoelectricity and pyroelectricity. The piezoelectric strain constant, d, is related to the piezoelectric stress coefficient, g, by... 

PHAs have rapidly gained interest both in research and industry due to their structural versatility and characteristics such as biodegradability, insolubility in water, nontoxicity, biocompatibility, piezoelectric property, thermoplasticity and or elastomeric properties, which make them favourable to be used in the packaging industry, medicine, pharmacy, agriculture, food industry and in the paint industry. The chemical and physical properties of the polymer are dependent on the monomeric composition which is determined by the producing microorganism and their nutrition. So far scl-PHAs are being studied extensively due to their easier... 

Diorio N, Varga M, Carif A, Puskas JE, Fodor-Csorba K, Sprunt S, et al. Piezoelectric properties of polymers containing bent-shape liquid crystal molecules. In Sprouse G, editor. Bul-lehn of the American physical society. Baltimore, Maryland American Physical Society 2013. [BAPS.2013.MAR.J28.7 APS Physics]. 

Polymer-Based Microreactor Systems Polymers are well known as very attractive materials for a microfluidic device, because polymers have a broad range of functional properties such as photoresistance, conductivity, biodegradability, elastomeric property, and piezoelectric property. A number of polymers are not only available in the various commercial suppliers but also... 

Two common piezoelectric materials are polymers (polyvinylidene fluoride, PVDF) and c mics (lead zirconate titanate, PZT). The polymer materials are soft and flexible however have lower dielectric and piezoelectric properties than ceramics. Conventional piezoelectric ceramic materials are rigid, heavy and can only be produced in block form. Ceramic materials add additional mass and stiffiiess to the host structure, especially when working with flexible/lightweight materials. This and their fragile nature limit possibilities for wearable devices. Comparisons of several piezoelectric materials are presented in Table 1. 

Polyvinylfluoride is a semicrystalline polymer. Its monomer units (CH2-CF2) are about 50% crystalline and 50% amorphous. It has been proven that this material has pronounced piezoelectric properties if mechanically treated (elongated) and then polarised under the action of a strong variable electric field. 

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