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Polarity-induced ferroelectric crystalline phase in electrospun fibers of poly(vinylidene fluoride)/polyacrylonitrile blends

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Abstract

In this study, crystal orientation and polymorphism formation in electrospun poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/polyacrylonitrile (PAN) blend fibers after melt-recrystallization were studied. To achieve uniform alignment of electrospun fibers, mechanical stretching was applied to the as-spun nonwoven fibers at 110 °C. Pure ferroelectric β-PVDF crystals in the PAN matrix were achieved, and both polar β-PVDF and polar PAN crystals oriented with their chain axes parallel to the fiber axes. After melt-recrystallization of PVDF, a significant amount of ferroelectric β crystals was retained in addition to the formation of nonpolar α crystals. A polarized Fourier transform infrared study showed that the degree of orientation of ferroelectric β-PVDF crystals was higher than that of nonpolar α crystals, suggesting that the β-PVDF crystals should form at the PVDF/PAN interfaces because of strong dipolar and hydrogen bonding interactions between vinylidene fluoride and acrylonitrile units. The nonpolar α-PVDF crystals should form in the center of PVDF domains.

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Acknowledgment

This work was supported by National Science Foundation (DMR-0907580). R. Su and G. Zhong acknowledge the Chinese Scholar Council for financial support. The authors thank Professor Gary Wnek and Mr. Linghui Meng at Case Western Reserve University for helping with electrospinning.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Polymer Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, People’s Republic of China

    Run Su, Ganji Zhong & Qiang Fu

  2. Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, 44106-7202, USA

    Run Su, Ganji Zhong & Lei Zhu

  3. Department of Chemistry, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, South Dakota, 57701-3995, USA

    Lifeng Zhang & Hao Fong

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  1. Run Su
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Correspondence to Hao Fong.

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Su, R., Zhong, G., Fu, Q. et al. Polarity-induced ferroelectric crystalline phase in electrospun fibers of poly(vinylidene fluoride)/polyacrylonitrile blends. Journal of Materials Research 27, 1389–1398 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2012.56

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