Ferroelectric Poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene-chlorotrifluoroethylene)s: Effect of Molecular Weight on Dielectric Property

A series of ferroelectric poly(vinylidene fluoricle-trifluoroethylene-chlorotrifluoroethylene), P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE), have been synthesized by a two-step approach. The first step is copolymerization of VDF and CTFE via solution or suspension methods to produce P(VDF-CTFE) copolymers with different molecular weights. The second step is partial de-chlorination to convert copolymers into P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) terpolymers with precisely controlled compositions. The effect of molecular weight, molecular weight distribution and uniaxially stretching on the dielectric properties has been investigated over a broad range of temperature and frequency. The X-ray diffraction patterns and DSC curves demonstrate the coexistence of the multiple phases in the terpolymers. The dielectric spectra depict the local relaxation processes and relaxor ferroelectric behavior on the basis of the dielectric loss tangent as a function of temperature.