NBSIR 76-1186

Piezoelectricity and Pyroelectricity

in Crystalline Polymers

G. Thomas Davis and M. G. Broadhurst

Institute for Materials Research

National Bureau of Standards

Washington, D. C. 20234

December 1976

Technical Report

January 1976 - December 1976

Department of the Navy

Office of Naval Research

Arlington, Va. 22217

NBSIR 76-1186

PIEZOELECTRICITY AND PYROELECTRICITY

IN CRYSTALLINE POLYMERS

G. Thomas Davis and M. G. Broadhurst

Institute for Materials Research

National Bureau of Standards

Washington, D. C. 20234

December 1976

Technical Report

January 1976 - December 1976

Department of the Navy

Office of Naval Research

Arlington, Va. 22217

'< # V'' ^

°*fAU o* S

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, Elliot L. Richardson, Secretary

Edward O. Vetter, Under Secretary

Dr. Betsy Ancker-Johnson, Assistant Secretary for Science and Technology

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS, Ernest Ambler, Acting Director
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Abstract

Investigations which should further our understanding of the fundamentals

of piezoelectricity in polymers have been carried out using a copolymer of

vinylidene fluoride and tetraf luoroethylene . This copolymer crystallizes

directly from the melt into a polar crystal form and the crystalline fraction

is easily varied from 0.35 to 0.5. Alignment of dipoles in an applied electric

field appears to approach saturation at nominal electric fields of 250 kV/cm

and is nearly independent of poling temperature between 0° and 80°C. Piezoelectric responses from samples of varying crystallinity are consistent with

increased polarization but lower compressibility as the degree of crystallinity

is increased.

Thermal pulse experiments which yield information on the charge density

distribution across the thickness of the film reveal that the polarization is

non-uniform. When poled at room temperature, only a thin region near the

positive electrode is poled and the thickness of this region increases with an

increase in poling temperature. Charge transport through the unpoled region

occurs with a time constant of the order of one minute at room temperature so

that thickness of the poled region becomes unimportant in slow measurements.

Copolymer films crystallized from the melt in the presence of a field show

greatly improved stability of piezoelectric activity when stored at elevated

temperatures compared with samples poled only after crystallization. Furthermore, there are visual differences between the poled and unpoled regions of such

a film which have yet to be explained.

The room temperature poling of polyviny lidene fluoride using a corona discharge has been confirmed. Preliminary results are presented which imply that

even the non-polar a phase of the polymer may be poled in this way but it is

unstable—especially at elevated temperatures.
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I. Introduction

The object of the research on the fundamentals of piezoelectricity in

polymers is to understand the mechanism responsible for the effect, to enable

the selection of polymers with the maximum electrical response and to optimize

the conditions for introducing and maintaining the piezoelectric activity. With

the aid of ONR funding, previous work in this laboratory has led to an understanding of the piezoelectric and pyroelectric response in amorphous polymers

like poly (vinylchloride) , in terms of dipole alignment

^ . The dipole alignment

(volume polarization) is achieved by the application of an electric field at

temperatures above the glass transition, Tg, while the polymer is mobile, and the

alignment is frozen- in by cooling below Tg before removing the field. Electrical

response to a change in pressure is adequately accounted for by the change in

volume and the corresponding change in polarization (net dipole moment/unit

volume). In the case of a temperature change, in addition to the thermal expansion (or contraction), a contribution to the change in polarization from a change

in the amplitude of oscillation of the dipoles, is determined.

In the case of the much more active semi crystalline polymers like poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and its copolymers, the mechanism is not yet fully understood.

In contrast to amorphous polymers where the polarization is linear with the applied

field and can be calculated from the dielectric properties, the polarization in PVDF

and its copolymers is non-linear, and is not simply calculable, as in amorphous

polymers, from relative permittivity data. The difference in behavior between

amorphous and semicrystalline polymers is best illustrated in Figure 1 which compares the pyroelectric coefficient for PVC and a copolymer of vinylidene fluoride and
2

tetraf luoroethy lene (PVDF-TFE) as a function of the electric field applied to

form the electret. When the model developed for amorphous polymers is applied

to the PVDF-TFE copolymer, the polarization required to account for the piezoelectric response is comparable to values which can be expected to be achieved

in the crystalline region of the polymers. However, the pyroelectric response

is larger than can be accounted for by reasonable values for the amplitude of

( 2 ) oscillation of the dipoles . In addition, the instability of the amorphous

electrets is understood in terms of the randomization of dipoles in the vicinity

of Tg but the reason for the decay of piezoelectric activity in the semicrystalline

polymers at elevated temperatures is not yet clear.

Much of the effort during the past year has focussed on the PVDF-TFE copolymer

in which we have attempted to make direct experimental measurements of dipole

alignment in the crystalline regions and have investigated some aspects of stability

of the piezoelectric activity, a matter of vital concern to polymer transducer

users. The effects of degree of crystallinity have been studied, samples have

been poled during crystallization from the melt, and important information on

the uniformity of polarization across the thickness of the films has been obtained.

Following a report in the literature of useful results, we have also done some

preliminary experiments with corona poling.

II . Piezoelectric and Pyroelectric Properties of PVDF-TFE Copolymer

( 3 ) Poly (viny lidene fluoride) can crystallize in three known crystal structures

It is generally accepted that one of the two polar crystal forms is required to

( 4 ) achieve the desireable piezoelectric response . Although the polar crystal
or

- 3 -

( C £ \ forms can be obtained to some extent by high temperature annealing ’

crystallization from some solutions these forms are most conveniently

( g) obtained by mechanical orientation . Lando and Doll discovered that when

vinylidene fluoride is copolymerized with sufficient quantities of monomers such

as tetraf luoroethy lene , trif luoroethy lene , or vinylf luoride , the resulting polymer

(9) crystallizes from the melt directly into the polar 3 phase . For several reasons,

we have found it convenient to work with a copolymer of 27% tetraf luoroethy lene

,

73% vinylidene fluoride. The copolymer was supplied by Pennwalt Corp. with the

designation Kynar 7200^"*"^^.t the time of acquisition it was a potentially commercial

polymer but at the present time it is not made commercially. Since there is only

one crystal form, a simple density measurement can be used to calculate the fraction

of polar crystal present and since mechanical orientation is not required, the

crystallites can be oriented randomly.

The method of measurement of piezoelectric and pyroelectric coefficients

commonly employed in our laboratory has been described previously ^ ^ but

since several references will be made to it in this report it should be helpful

to describe it briefly. The film to be measured is placed at the bottom of a

copper cell which rests upon a copper block the temperature of which can be

changed gradually by flowing either warmed or chilled water through it. Electrical contact is made to the top electrode of the film and the short-circuit

current between the top and bottom electrodes is recorded as a function of

time as the temperature of the block is altered. Simultaneously, the temperature

is recorded as the output from a thermocouple inserted in the wall of the copper

cell. The pyroelectric coefficient is then obtained from the ratio of the
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current per unit area to the ratio of temperature change at the same point

in time. Piezoelectric response is determined by altering the hydrostatic

pressure on the sample by allowing helium gas from a cylinder to leak into

or out of the cell through a metering valve. The pressure within the cell

is recorded as a function of time simultaneously with the current generated.

Compared with sinusoidal techniques, the rate of change of both temperature

and pressure is rather slow. Typical recorder traces are shown in Figures

2 and 3

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The pyroelectric coefficient determined in the manner just described is

shown as a function of the applied poling field for three different poling

temperatures in Figure 4. Each data point represents a separate sample preparation involving melting and quenching into ice water. Despite the scatter, it

is apparent that for fields in excess of about 200 kV/cm, the polarization (as

reflected in the pyroelectric response) becomes independent of poling temperature—even at 0°C.

As mentioned previously, poling this semicrystalline polymer does not

require cooling through a glass transition. Our working hypothesis is that dipoles

within crystalline regions of the polymer become aligned with the field by

rotation about the chain axis defined by the carbon-carbon backbone of the

polymers. The crystalline fraction of the polymer can be increased by slower

cooling from the melt than was employed for the samples of Figure 4. Results

for poling a film which is 43% crystalline are compared with those for a

film which is 35% crystalline in Figure 5. In this case, the piezoelectric coefficient is shown as a function of the field applied at room temperature.
5

According to the model in which the piezoelectric response arises from the

change in volume polarization as the film is compressed the piezoelectric

coefficient is given by:

d = e 3„ p

p

°° SL ( 1 )

where d = piezoelectric coefficient for an increase in hydrostatic pressure

P

= high frequency limit of relative permittivity of the film

3^ = linear compressibility of the film

P = polarization arising from dipole alignment.

Linear compressibilities of the samples were measured by using three small

pieces of the polymer film to separate the plates of a parallel plate capacitor.

Hydrostatic pressure was provided by helium gas from a cylinder and the fractional change in capacitance (corrected for permittivity of He) was equated to

the fractional change in thickness of the polymer spacers. 3^ for quenched

-10 2 films was found to be 2.1 x 10 m /N and for the slowly cooled film

-10 2 1.1 x 10 m /N. From these values of 3^» the measured d^'s and the assumed

s 3, Eq.(l) was used to calculate the polarization required to account for

the results.

This polarization is shown as a function of the applied field in Figure 6.

As expected from a model in which polarization resides only in the crystalline

region, the more crystalline samples exhibit a larger polarization ; the piezo-
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electric response is lower due to the smaller compressibility. Since both

samples appear to reach saturation, one can compare the "measured" polarization with the maximum to be expected from the model. Allowing for the enhanced

polarization arising from the internal field^\ the maximum polarization to

be expected can be estimated from:

( £

oo + 2)

p = y

* x • X

* f

H_T

' (2)

where y = dipole moment of vinylidene fluoride = 2. ID

3

V = specific volume of copolymer, cm /average monomer unit

x = fraction of vinylidene fluoride in copolymer = .73

X = fraction of sample which is crystalline

f = fraction of monomer units which add head to tail in polymerization = 0.9

H-T

ip = averaged component of dipoles which contribute to net polarization due

to crystallite orientation.

Comparison with the data of Figure 6 is presented in Table I for various

assumptions regarding A value for ip depends upon the model one chooses for

the realigning of dipoles in the electric field. We do not expect to be able

to move or rotate entire crystallites in the field at the temperatures employed

for poling so that the orientation of the polymer chain axis is assumed fixed

at the crystallization step, viz. random. If one assumes rotation about the

chain axis from all possible angles to positions where the plane defined by

the chain axis and the net dipole is aligned in the direction of the field,

ip = 2/3 for random orientation of chain axes. However, if the crystal lattice
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imposes the restriction that only 180° rotations are allowed, then only the

component of the dipoles that lie in a single direction will contribute to

the net P and ip = 1/3. From the agreement in Table I, it appears that

iJj = 1/3 which has important implications regarding the ability to detect

changes in dipole alignment as will be discussed in the following section.

III. Attempts to Measure Dipole Re-Orientation

A. Models

Figure 7 shows a schematic representation of folded-chain polymer crystallites

as they are thought to exist in a semi-crystalline polymer. The parallel lines

represent a sequence of covalently bonded carbon atoms which form the "backbone"

of the polymer chain commonly referred to as the chain axis. Small arrows indicate the dipoles of the(CH

2 CF2

) repeating monomer units in the chain which are

normal to the chain axis in the polar crystal form. Large arrows emphasize the

net dipole of the crystallite—meant to be oriented at random in the unpoled

polymers on the left. In general, polymer crystallites are 10 to 40 nm thick

(the dimension depicted in the figure) and on the order of 1 ym in lateral

extent. For simplicity, only crystallites with the chain axis parallel to the

plane of the paper are considered in Figure 7 for now. Because of the restriction to movement of the crystallites imposed by polymer molecules which probably

exist as tie-chains between crystallites and the very high viscosity of the

surrounding non- crystal line regions, the crystallites are not expected to move

significantly in the poling process. One can, however, envision realignment of

dipoles in the electric field through rotation about the chain axis within the

crystal lattice similar to the motion proposed for the crystal relaxation in

( 12 ) polyethylene which occurs above room temperature . A crystal relaxation

(13) has been observed in PVDF in the anti-polar a form and in the polar crystal

(14) of poly (viny If luoride) but as yet, experimental evidence for a crystal
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relaxation in the 8 form of PVDF is lacking. The effect of chain axis

orientation is best illustrated by the two lowest crystallites in Figure 7.

When the chain axis is normal to the film surface across which the poling

field is applied as in "A" there will be no contribution to a change in

polarization because dipole alignment with the field would require a change

in chain axis orientations. However, when the chains are parallel to the

surface as in "BM

, rotation of the molecule about the chain axis could result

in aligning the dipole with the applied field and thus contribute to the polarization. In general, the component of the chain axis which lies in a plane

parallel to the surface would be expected to contribute as indicated in Figure 7

by the angle 6. Further consideration must be given to the details of such a

reorientation by rotation about the chain axis. Lacking from Figure 7 were

representations of crystallites with a component of the chain axis normal to

the plane of the paper which are considered in Figure 8.

Assuming that rotation about the chain axis is possible, the resulting

polarization still depends upon what angular changes can occur. If rotation

through all angles is allowed such that the maximum polarization consistent

with no change in chain axis occurs, the situation represented by Figure 8(b)

would obtain. In this case rotation about the chain axis would have to be

accompanied by or followed by translation of the chains with respect to each

other in order to re-establish the stable crystal structure. The relative

positions after rotation but before translation are shown by the dotted arrows

in Figure 8(b). It is this model which leads to \p = 2/3 in Eq.(2). Note that the

number of crystallites in a favorable position to diffract x-rays from, say, the 020

planes for a given angle of incidence will have changed in this case.

If rotations of 180° only were allowed such that the relative positions of

the chain axes remain unchanged, the situation depicted in Figure 8(c) would be

expected. In such a case, the maximum polarization to be expected would depend

upon the averaged component of the dipoles in a single direction—the direction
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of the applied field. If the dipoles in a randomly oriented specimen are

resolved into components directed along the axes of a rectangular coordinate

system, 1/3 of the summed components will lie in a particular direction and

ip = 1/3 in Eq.(2). In this model, polarization is achieved by aligning one

component of all the dipoles in the same direction but no change in orientation

of crystal planes would be detected after poling. Likewise, there would be no

change detected in the polarized IR spectrum. As mentioned in the previous

section, it is this model which appears to agree most closely with data obtained

on the copolymer samples of differing crystallinities. Stronger conclusions

should not be reached because of the uncertain applicability of Eq. (1) to the

crystalline polymers and the experimental uncertainty in B

0

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Even though no changes in the orientation of crystal planes nor the intensity

of polarized IR and Raman spectra as a result of poling would be expected based

on the above results, other authors 5 ^ have reported such changes. We

have also looked for such changes in the copolymer system.

B . X-Ray Scans

The intensity of diffracted x-rays from a set of crystal planes is a maximum

when the Bragg condition is met, viz. , nA = 2d sin 0 where A is the wavelength

of x-rays, d is the interplanar spacing, n is the order of the reflection and 0

is the angle between the incident beam and the crystal plane. If the angle

between incident and diffracted beam is set to correspond to a particular d

spacing, say 020, then the 020 planes that are in the right position (inclined

at 0 degrees to the incident beam) will contribute to the diffracted intensity.

Information on the orientation of crystal planes within a sample can be obtained

by recording the diffracted intensity at fixed 0 positions as the sample is

continuously repositioned in the x-ray beam. Such data obtained for a series
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of different d-spacings are known as x-ray pole figures . Preliminary to

such extensive measurements before and after poling, we looked for changes in

intensity of diffraction from crystal planes of different spacings with the

copolymer film in a fixed position as the voltage across a 50 ym thick film was

increased in steps of 500 V to 2000 V. Successive seams were superimposable

indicative of no change in orientation.

C. Raman Spectroscopy

Preliminary measurements have been made using Raman spectroscopy to detect

changes in dipole alignment. A purposely thick film (100 ym) was prepared by

slow cooling from the melt and plated with evaporated gold electrodes. The

film was cut and illuminated on the edge. The incident beam passed through

a small hole in a mirror at 45° to the direction of propagation and was

polarized in a direction normal to the surface of the film. Back scattered

radiation was reflected from the mirror into the collecting system through

a polarizer whose direction was parallel to the surface of the film. Near

the end of one scan the region of the sample being illuminated was burned

out by the laser beam. Upon repositioning the sample, a spectrum with a

vastly different distribution of intensities was obtained as shown in Figure 9.

Inhomogeneities on the scale of the laser beam (ca. 40 ym diam) require then

that the effect of poling must be investigated by repeating measurements on

exactly the same region of sample. When 500 volts was applied across the film

(50 kV/cm) at room temperature there was an increase in background intensity due

to fluorescence but no detectable change in the spectrum in the region from 750

to 900 cm \ Upon applying 1000 volts , breakdown between the high voltage electrode and a grounded portion of the apparatus occurred and the experiment has

been discontinued for the present.
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D. Optical Microscopy

An attempt was also made to observe changes in the optical extinction

pattern of a cross section of copolymer film between crossed Nicols as an

electric field was applied at room temperature. No changes were observed bu L

the experimental arrangement may be of interest for further work. A thin

film of copolymer which had been oriented by rolling was coated with evaporated

aluminum electrodes about 1000 A thick on each side. Teflon tubing about 4 mm

I.D. was cut in two lengthwise, the film placed between the halves of tubing

and then held together by inserting in Tygon tubing of appropriate I.D.

Molten Woods metal was poured into this mold so as to create a semi-circular

contact on each side of the copolymer film. The film with the adhering

Woods metal was then cast in epoxy and 25 ym-thick slices were cut on a

microtome. Finally, electrical leads were connected to the Woods metal

portion of each slice using silver-filled epoxy. A sketch of the resultant

cross-section is presented' in Figure 10. Electrical breakdown occurred at

about 700 volts in several samples.

In view of the tentative conclusion of only 180° rotation of dipoles

mentioned in section IIA and the incomplete poling at room temperature to be

discussed in the following section, the absence of observed changes in x-ray,

Raman and optical microscopy is not surprising. Discrepancies between these

results and the reports of others ^ ^ have yet to be explained.

IV. Thermal Pulse Experiments

Dr. R. E. Collins of AWA Research Laboratory, North Ryde, Australia worked

in our laboratories for about seven weeks in early 1976 during which time he

set up an apparatus for measuring charge distribution in polymer films similar

(19) to the one he previously described . Briefly, the method relies upon the

thermal expansion and subsequent contraction of different regions of the film

with their associated charge and concomitant polarization changes as a heat

pulse diffuses through the thickness of the film. If the polarization charge
12 -

is cancelled throughout the film by real charge, then the charge per unit

area AQ(t)/A generated at the metal electrodes as a result of the thermal

pulse can be expressed as a function of the polarization distribution within

(19)

the film, P(x) and the temperature increase at any given plane AT (x,t)

AQ (t)

A d

,d (a + a - a ) P (x) AT (x,t) dx + —^ — — P (d) AT

eq

' o

(3)

in which A is the area of the pulsed electrode, and are the thermal

coefficients [e.g. ^

] of polarization, P, thickness, x, and relative

permittivity, e, respectively. The distance from the pulsed electrode to an

arbitrary plane in the film is x and the total thickness is d, P(d) is the

polarization at x = d and AT is the temperature change when the temperature

r eq

Figures 11 and 12 show results of Collins for two films poled at different

temperatures. The charge generated was recorded as a function of time after

the absorption of a short heat pulse. In Figures 11, and 12, curves a and b

represent the charge generated when the heat pulse is incident on the side that

was positive and negative respectively during poling. Curve c is a recording

of the change in resistance of the aluminum electrode on the pulsed surface. It

is representative of the change in temperature at that surface, and provides

measurement of the thermal time constant of the sample ^^).

It is evident that the charge pulses from the sample when heated from

opposite sides are quite different, indicating spatial assymmetry in the polarization within the film. A quantitative estimate of the spatial distribution of

the polarization can be obtained by deconvo luting the data in Figures 11, and 12

using Eq. (3) which has been done by Collins. The results are shown in Fieure IT.

Only the broad features of the distribution are obtained bv this technique; fine

structure is not resolved.
13 -

In the sample poled at room temperature, the polarization is large only

very close to that electrode which was positive during poling. Copolymer

samples poled at 62, 71, 81, 92, 101, and 106°C also show polarization which

is largest near this + electrode, and which extends progressively further into

the film the higher the poling temperature. Even at the highest poling temperature, however, the polarization is still highly non-uniform. However,

poly (vinylidene fluoride) homopolymer poled at 100°C at fields near 800 kV/cm

exhibit nearly unifora polarization by this technique.

The spatial dependence of polarization presumably reflects in some way the

spatial variation of electric field in the sample during poling. This non-uniform

field is associated with non-uniform space charges in the specimen during poling,

but we have no detailed description of the space charge behavior as a function of

time and temperature. The assumption of negative charge injection at the negative

electrode and mobility of the charges through the bulk is one possible explanation

of the effects.

The results shown in Figure 4 (pyroelectric coefficient essentially independent of poling temperature) and those of Figure 13 (different fractions

of the sample thickness poled) seemed initially to be conflicting. It can be

demonstrated, however, that they are consistent with a model in which real

charge migrates through the essentially unpoled region of the sample after a

temperature change. This charge moves in the internal electric field produced

by the temperature induced change in polarization. Charge motion continues

until the internal electric field is zero.

In such a model, the charge motion will take place at a rate dependent

on the electrical time constant, e^e'p, of the polymer. For PVF^-TFE copolymer,

the resistivity p is time dependent, but measurements a few minutes after
14 -

application of a voltage yield values around 4 x 10 ohm cm at room temperature. The relative permittivity, e', is frequency dependent and, at 22°C,

varies from 9.0 at 100 Hz to 14.2 at 0.01 Hz. The time constant corresponding

to these values is about one minute.

The model also predicts the magnitude of the charge transfer for a sample

in which the polarization decreases monotonically from one electrode (such as

in the present case). The total charge generated (true pyroelectric charge

plus the subsequent real charge motion) is proportional to the maximum value

of polarization. It does not depend on how far the polarization extends into

the sample or on the detailed spatial distribution. In the remainder of this

section evidence is presented which supports this interpretation of the above

experimental results.

In order to obtain a more direct indication of the effect, the temperature

of some samples was increased in a step-wise manner and the charge transferred

was measured as a function of time. Poled polymer films were immersed in a stirred

beaker of hexane and the temperature was changed rapidly stepwise by adding small

amounts of heated or cooled hexane. The temperature changes of about 2°C were

measured with a thermocouple and the charge transferred from one surface to

the other was converted to a voltage using an operational amplifier. Co-polymer

films poled between 0° and 80°C show a rapid charge flow followed by a time- dependent

current of which Figure 14a is typical. The dashed line fitted to the solid

curve in Figure 14a is an exponential curve with time constant of 0.78 minutes.

This is of the order of the electrical time constant discussed above. On the

other hand, the homopolymer film, (PVDF) which appears to be uniformly poled

from the thermal pulse experiments shows only the initial rapid response as
15 -

shown in Figure 14b. Close examination of the data from the thermal pulsing

experiment shows that the charge delivered is still increasing slightly when

the temperature in the sample is uniform (Figures 11 and 12). This is also

an indication of the beginning of the slow response of Figure 14a.

To confirm that a non-uniformly poled sample could give just such a

response, the pyroelectric response from a layered structure of unpoled copolymer and poled PVDF was compared with that from poled PVDF alone. PVDF

homopolymer capacitor grade material supplied by Kureha Chemical Corp^^was

poled at 800 kV/cm for 30 minutes at 110°C. The pyroelectric response is

indicated by the solid line in Figure 15. It can be seen that the pyroelectric current accurately follows the rate of change of temperature. Immediately after obtaining this result, an unpoled copolymer film with electrodes

on both sides was inserted between the PVDF and the upper contact. The temperature was then changed as before. The results are indicated by the dashed line

in Figure 15. It can be seen that the current response due to a temperature

change is not as rapid.

The apparent pyroelectric coefficient for these two cases is shown in

Figure 16 for different times after the commencement of a temperature change.

The total charge transferred, obtained by integrating the data of Figure 15 is

found to be similar in both cases yielding a pyroelectric coefficient of 2.45

2 nC/ cm K as indicated by the bar at the right of Figure 16. It can be concluded

that, under the nearly static measuring conditions here, a non-uniformly poled

sample can yield the same pyroelectric response as a uniformly poled sample,

if there is sufficient conductivity in the unpoled part of the polymer.
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V. Crystallization in an Applied Field

As mentioned previously, it seems very unlikely that crystallites in

the semi crystalline polymer can be rotated by the applied field. However,

if poled as the polymer is cooled slowly from the melt it may be possible to

orient newly formed crystals in the field before they become entangled with

neighboring crystallites. Since the copolymer crystallizes in the desired

polar crystal form without mechanical deformation, it is possible to attempt

this poling during crystallization. When crystallized in the presence of

an applied field, two different techniques were used to minimize electrical

breakdown. When the whole area of the sample was to be poled, a circular

disc was cut from a 25 ym thick Kapton^s^eet to be used as a spacer between

brass electrodes. The copolymer pellet was then pressed into a film filling

the void in the insulating Kapton "^s^acer. When only a portion of the film

was to be poled, gold electrodes and leads were evaporated onto Kapton sheets

between which the copolymer was melted and pressed. The "sandwich" consisting

of Kapton sheets and copolymer melt was transferred from the hot press to a

copper sleeve immersed in a controlled temperature bath for poling and crystallization. After crystallization, graphite electrodes were painted on the surfaces

for electrical measurements.

It has been possible to pole the copolymer as it crystallizes. Dilatometric

measurements indicate that crystallization starts around 119°C but at these

temperatures the maximum field that we have been able to apply without breakdown

has been about 80 kV/cm. Consequently, the piezoelectric response is not as

large as achieved for samples poled at higher fields but the resulting properties
17 -

are extremely interesting. The most encouraging aspects of such experiments

are that the resulting piezoelectric activity is stable at elevated temperatures

and one can visually distinguish the poled region from the surrounding unpoled

regions

.

Although the copolymer can be poled at room temperature to what appears to

be saturation, the activity decays with time. Typical data at a seris of

temperatures are shown in Fig. 17. In contrast, the samples poled during crystallization show very little decrease with time, even when stored at 100°C. The

data are shown for storage temperatures of 60, 80, and 100°C in Fig. 18. Although

the response is not as large initially, the stability of such samples means that

there is nothing intrinsically unstable about the polarization in a copolymer of

this composition.

Another interesting result of poling during crystallization is that one can

visually distinguish a difference between the poled and unpoled region but so

far we have not found any instrumental technique that will help to explain the

difference. The photograph in Fig. 19 is of a copolymer film crystallized

between Kaptorf '^eets with evaporated electrodes. The grounded electrode was

split so that only one-half of the sample was subjected to the field but both

halves crystallized under the same conditions otherwise, including the presence

of gold on both sides. The picture was taken with the film between crossed

polaroids. In a density gradient column, a portion from the poled side exhibited

3 3 a density of 1.885 g/cm vs 1.887 g/cm from the unpoled region but further

measurements must be made to be confident of differences of this magnitude. The

infra red spectra are essentially identical; fourier transform IR were taken at
18 -

several positions on each side and the difference spectrum indicates no variation between positions. There may, however, be a measurable difference in

the x-ray diffractometer scans. In Fig. 20 are shown tracingsof diffractometer

scans from the two halves of a similar sample. The peak in the vicinity of

20° 29 is shifted by about 0.2° toward higher angles in the poled portion of

the film. Unfortunately, no internal standard was run to insure that both halves

were properly aligned on the diffractometer stage but such experiments are planned.

Quantitative information is difficult to extract from such data because of the near

coincidence of several reflections, the relative random crystal orientation and

the diffuseness of the peaks exhibited by the copolymer. The reflections which

contribute to the intensities of each peak are indicated on the Figure.

One attempt was made to pole the PVDF homopolymer during crystallization

using the method described above. K-/"*"?llm supplied by Kureha Chemical Corporation

was subjected to a field of 43 kV/cm at 179°C and cooled to 140°C over a period

of 2.5 hours then quenched to room temperature before removing the field. The

resulting film was difficult to separate from the Kapton sheets but portions

large enough for an IR spectra were obtained from each side (poled and unpoled).

Both regions of the film exhibited mostly non-polar a-form crystals with no

difference in relative amount of a and 8 as evidenced by IR bands at 510 and

530 cm \

( 21 )

VI . Corona Poling

A recent report by Southgate v ' shows that PVDF homopolymer can be poled

at all temperatures above -40°C (the usually accepted T ) using a corona dis-

§

charge. Furthermore, significant changes in the IR spectra were reported which

indicated a conversion from a to 8 phase upon annealing and subsequent to the corona

charging. We have performed some preliminary experiments which confirm that
19 -

PVDF can be poled in this way at room temperature. In addition, very interesting results are obtained from different samples. In the experiments performed

here, ions in the air above the polymer film were created by discharging a

Tesla coil to ground. Only the bottom surface of each film was electroded with

aluminum and a negative potential of 3000 volts was applied to the bottom electrode

during the discharge. Following the discharge, a graphite electrode was painted

onto the top surface to facilitate measurement of the pyroelectric response. IR

and x-ray scans were made at each stage by removing the electrodes and then replacing them again (with graphite electrodes). The results obtained for three

different films before and after annealing for one hour at 100° C are shown in

Table II. The surprising result is that the PVDF in the non-polar a-form

( 10 ) (unstretched Kynar 300' ) exhibited such a large initial response which then decays

upon annealing. When poled in the more conventional way by applying a potential

across a film to evaporated electrodes on both sides, essentially no response is

observed. The copolymer (Kynar 72o6 ) exhibits about the same response as is

obtained in conventional poling (see Fig. 4) and the decay at 100°C is similar to

samples poled conventionally at room temperature. We do not yet understand the

decay process. The homopolymer, PVDF, which contains both a and 3 crystal forms

, i (10)

as a result of biaxial stretching (capacitor grade K-F ) loses about one-half its

activity within 5 minutes at 100°C and still retains 43% after 11 days at this

temperature. These results suggest to us the possibility that the non-polar

crystal form can be made pyroelectric in this way but that it is less stable

than the polar form. We did not observe any changes in the IR spectrum of the

( 10 ) unoriented Kynar 300 as a result of the poling but this is not necessarily in
20 -

conflict with Southgate's results since the most pronounced changes are

observed at much higher fields than we employed. An x-ray scan does show

a shoulder at about 20.8° 20 (Cu K-) which is not there in the unpoled data

a and which may be the 110 and 200 reflection of a 8 phase. The shoulder remains

after annealing for one hour at 100° C. These results are preliminary and must

be repeated and extended, before conclusions can be reached. However, they

imply that understanding of polymer piezoelectricity in PVDF can be greatly

advanced by this line of research.
Table I. Saturation polarization of copolymer films

compared with maximum to be expected.

Measured

Fractional Saturation

Crystallinity Polarization (Fig. 6), yC/cm2

Calculated

Maximum

Polarization (Eq.2) , yC/cm2

0.35 1.4

0.43 1.8

Y

= 1 Y = 2/3 Y

4.2 2.8

5.1 3.4

= 1/3

1.4

1.7
Table II. Pyroelectric coefficient resulting from corona poling at room temperature.

Sample

^

Crystal

form

pyroelectric coefficient, nC/cm2K

before annealing annealed 1 hr. at 100°

Kureha K-F PVDF a + 6 2.8 1.4

Pennwalt Kynar 300 PVDF a 1.6 0.08

Pennwalt Kynar 7200 PVDF-TFE 3 2.3 0.1

(a) See reference 10
Figure Captions

Figure 1. Pyroelectric coefficient vs. electric field applied to form the

electret. The measurements were made at room temperature under

short-circuit conditions. ^ PVC poled at 80°C; Q PVDF-TFE

copolymer poled at 60°C.

Figure 2. Recorder trace showing pyroelectric current and temperature as a

function of time from which the pyroelectric coefficient is determined.

Figure 3

.

Recorder trace showing piezoelectric current and pressure as a function

of time from which the piezoelectric coefficient is determined.

Figure 4. Pyroelectric coefficient of melt-quenched films of Kynar 7200 as a

function of applied field during poling. Q 0°C, A 23°C,^60°C.

Figure 5. Piezoelectric coefficient vs. electric field for copolymer films of

different degrees of crystallinity, x* Results are for duplicate films

poled at room temperature. Q, 0x = 0.43; Q , x = 0*35.

Figure 6. Polarization required to account for piezoelectric coefficients of

Fig. 5 according to Eq.(l). Data points are averages of the duplicate

samples in Fig. 5. Q x = 0-43; O X = 0-35.

Figure 7. Schematic representation of folded-chain crystallites of PVDF in the

polar crystal form surrounded by non-crystalline regions. Rotation about

the chain axis within the crystals on the left would allow reorientation

in an applied field and result in the polarization on the right.
Figure 8 Schematic representation of polymer crystallites oriented with polymer

chain axis normal to the plane of the paper on which it is shown. (a).

Unpoled polymer film, (b) poled polymer with no limitation on angle of

rotation about chain axis. The rectangles represent a projection of the

unit cell onto the ab plane drawn about a central position to indicate

the translational motion which must follow in order to maintain the

crystal structure, (c) poled polymer allowing only 180° rotation.

Figure 9. Raman spectra from two different regions of the same copolymer film.

No poling voltage has been applied in either case.

Figure 10. A sketch of the film-electrode-epoxy composite used for optical microscopy.

Figure 11. Charge transfer between electroded surfaces of copolymer film as a

function of time following absorption of a heat impulse on one surface of

the film; (a) when pulsed on the electrode which was positive during poling;

(b) heat pulse on negative electrode; (c) resistance change of aluminum

electrode which indicates temperature history of pulsed surface. Copolymer

film is 44 ym in thickness and was poled at 272 kV/cm for 20 minutes at

room temperature. The heat pulse was 20 ys long (FWHM) for the charge

measurements and 50 ys long (FWHM) for the resistance trace. [FWHM is

abbreviation for full width at half-maximum.

]

Figure 12. Charge transfer between electroded surfaces of copolymer film as a function of time following a heat impulse on one surface of the film;

(a), (b), and (c) as in Fig. 11. Poling conditions were 255 kV/cm at 101°C

for five minutes. Copolymer film is 47 ym thick.

Figure 13. Spatial distribution of polarization in copolymer films from

Figs. 11 and 12. The polarization is largest at the electrode that was positive during poling.
Figure 14. Charge transfer between opposing surfaces of polymer film as a function

of time following a step-wise change in temperature; (a) copolymer film

poled at 0° in a field of 800 kV/cm; (b) poly (viny lidene fluoride) homopolymer poled for 30 minutes at 110° and 800 kV/cm. Pens for charge and

temperature are physically offset.

Figure 15. Pyroelectric current response and temperature as a function of time.

Solid lines refer to a single film of poly (viny lidene fluoride) poled

for 30 minutes at 110° and 800 kV/cm. Broken lines refer to same sample

but with a film of unpoled copolymer between the active film and the top

contact. Offset of pens in original data has been compensated in this

tracing.

Figure 16. The apparent pyroelectric coefficient at various points in time from the

curves in Fig. 15. Solid circles refer to the single film of homopolymer;

open circles refer to the two-layer configuration. The bar at the right

corresponds to the coefficient obtained by integration of either curve

in Fig. 15. Time axis refers to point of departure of current from zero

in Fig. 15.

Figure 17 Decay of pyroelectric coefficient of PVDF-TFE coDolymer as a function of

time stored at 60°C. O quenched film, poled at 0°C, 500 kV/cm; US quenched

film poled at 60°, 300 kV/cm

; ^slowly cooled film, poled at 60°, 500 kV/cm;

A slowly cooled film, poled at 80°C, 500 kV/cm.

Figure 18 Pyroelectric coefficient of PVDF-TFE copolymer poled during crystallization

as a function of time stored at various temperatures. A aged at 60°C;

0 aged at 80°C; Q aged at 100°C. ^data of same symbol taken from Fig. 17

for comparison. (Three points corresponding to aging times of less than

30 minutes at 60°C are off the scale of this plot).
Figure 19. Copolymer film between crossed polaroids* The lighter portion was

crystallized in an electric field.

Figure 20. X-ray diffractometer scans of copolymer film. Solid line refers to

data obtained from the portion of the sample which crystallized in an

electric field, broken line refers to data obtained from the unpoled

region of the same film. The reflection in the regions from 30° to

48° 20 are very weak and are recorded at a sensitivity 10X larger than

the peak near 20°.
References

1. F. I. Mopsik and M. G. Broadhurst, Molecular dipole electrets, J. Appl. Phys.,

j46 , 4204-4208 (1975).

2. G. T. Davis, Piezoelectricity and pyroelectricity in a poly (vinylidene fluoride,

tetraf luoroethylene) copolymer, Proceedings of Piezoelectric and Pyroelectric

Symposium-Workshop, NBSIR 75-760, September 1975 p. 120.

3. R. Hasegawa, Y. Takahashi, Y. Chatani, and H. Tadokoro, Crystal structures of

three crystalline forms of poly (vinylidene fluoride). Polymer J., _3 , 600-610 (1972).

4. N. Murayama, T. Oikawa, T. Katto, and K. Nakamura, Persistent polarization in

poly (vinylidene fluoride). II. Piezoelectricity of poly (vinylidene fluoride)

thermoelectrets , J. Polym. Sci. Polym. Phys. Ed., JL3, 1033-1047 (1975).

5. W. W. Prest, Jr. and D. J. Luca, The morphology and thermal response of high

temperature crystallized poly (vinylidene fluoride), J. Appl. Phys. 46 , 4136-4143 (1975).

6. S. Osaki and Y. Ishida, Effects of annealing and isothermal crystallization

upon crystalline forms of poly (vinylidene fluoride), J. Polym. Sci. Polym Phys.

Ed. 13, 1071-1083 (1975).

7. R. P. Teulings, J. H. Dumbleton, and Robert L. Miller, Structure and fiber

formation in poly (vinylidene fluoride), Polym. Letters., 6^, 441-445 (1968).

8. J. B. Lando, H. G. Olf and A. Peterlin, Nuclear magnetic resonance and x-ray

determination of the structure of poly (vinylidene fluoride), J. Polym. Sci.

Part A-l, 4, 941-951 (1966).

9. J. B. Lando, and W. W. Doll, The polymorphism of poly (vinylidene fluoride).

I. The effect of head-to-head structure, J. Macromol. Sci. -Phys. B2 205-218 (1968).

10.

A commercial material is identified in order to specify adequately experimental

procedure. Such identification does not imply recommendation by the National

Bureau of Standards.

11. M. G. Broadhurst, C. G. Malmberg, F. I. Mopsik, and W. P. Harris, Piezo- and

pyroelectricity in polymer electrets, Electrets, Charge Storage and Transport

in Dielectrics, M. M. Perlman, ed. Electrochem. Soc. Princeton, N.J. 492-504 (1973).

12. J. D. Hoffman, G. Williams, and E. Passaglia, Analysis of the a, 8, and y relaxations in polychlorotrif luoroethylene and polyethylene: dielectric and

mechanical properties, J. Polym. Sci. Part C 14, 173-235 (1966).

13. S. Osaki and Y. Ishida, Dielectric behavior of poly (vinylidene fluoride) in

the melt and in solution-grown crystal mat, J. Polym. Sci. Polym Phys. Ed.

12, 1727-1731 (1974).
14. S. Osaki, S. Uemura, and Y. Ishida, Effects of a static electric field

upon dielectric properties of poly (viny lidene fluoride) and poly (vinyl

fluoride), J. Polym. Sci. Part A-2, 9_, 585-594 (1971).

15. R. G. Kepler, Origin of piezoelectricity and pyroelectricity in poly(

viny lidene fluoride), Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 21 , 373 (1976).

16. J. P. Luongo, Far-Infrared spectra of piezoelectric poly (viny lidene fluoride),

J. Polym. Sci. Part A-2, 10, 1119-1123 (1972).

. M. Latour, Contribution a 1' etude du champ electrostatique dans les elect rets

de copolymere poly (f luorure de vinylidene)-poly (tetraf luoroethylene) , to be

published in Journal of Electrostatics.

• M. Kakudo and N. Kasai, X— ray diffraction by polymers, Elsevier Pub. Co.

New York, 1972 p.231 ff.

19. R. E. Collins, Measurement of charge distribution in electrets, to be published

in Rev. Sci. Instrum.

20. R. E. Collins, Analysis of spatial distribution of charges and dipoles in

electrets by a transient heating technique, submitted for publication in

J. Appl. Phys.

^ Southgate, Room- temperature poling and morphology changes in pyroelectric

poly (viny lidene fluoride), Appl. Phys. Letters, 28 , 250-252 (1976).
PYROELECTRIC

COEFFICIENT,

nC/cm

2

K

R&. I
TIME

.minutes

CURRENT, pA
PRESSURE

‘iNaaano

o

CM

O

CM

TIME,

minutes

/r/^,

j
2.8 *

2 ujo/ou ‘1N3I0UJ30D omioanaoyAd

I J

kV/cm
vi

Cl

ki

kV/cm
2.0 oo

in

SI

vi£ oo*oo

fOoo

CVJ oo

E,

kV/cm
o
FtG>, %
sjiun Ajoj^qjo ‘A1ISN31NI

IOOO

800

600

400

200

WAVE

NUMBER,

cm*

1

p,t.€j
70fim

(CROSS SECTION)

Ft 6* to
RESISTANCE

CHANGE

CHARGE,

arbitrary

units

J I I l_

10 20 30 40

TIME, ms

Fl&, a
RESISTANCE

CHANGE

CHARGE,

arbitrary

units

Ft 6. n-
POLARIZATION,

arbitrary

units

f=l<5. 1 3
TEMPERATURE

CHANGE,

°K

TIME , min

Ft&. !</

CHARGE,

nC
»o 39NVH0 3dfllVd3dlAI31

od o

IsCD

IO

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2

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o o

o o

Dd^'iNgydno

o

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•)! "9/d

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APPARENT

PYROELECTRIC

COEFFICIENT,

nC/cm 2

K
I

day

Iwk I

month

IO Lj
I

day I

wkI

month

TIME,

minutes
(

400

),

(

201 )

(II

I),

(220)

Sijun Ai0j|jq jd ‘A1ISN31NI O

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4. TITLE (and Subtitle) Piezoelectricity and Pyroelectricity

in Crystalline Polymers

5. TYPE OF REPORT & PERIOD COVERL

Final

6. PERFORMING ORG. REPORT NUMBER

NBSIR 76-1186

7. author/*;

G. T. Davis and M. G. Broadhurst

\

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19.

KEY WORDS (Continue on reverse elde II necee eary and Identity by block number)

Charge distribution; charge transfer; corona poling; dipole orientation;

piezoelectricity; polarization; polyviny lidene fluoride; pyroelectricity:

vinylidene fluoride copolymer

20.

ABSTRACT (Continue on reverse elde II necessary and Identity by block number)

Investigations on piezoelectricity and pyroelectricity in crystalline

polymers have been carried out using a copolymer of vinylidene fluoride and tetraf luoroethy lene which crystallizes directly from the melt into a polar

crystal form. The crystalline fraction is easily varied from 0.35 to 0.5. Alignment of the dipoles in an applied electric field appears to approach* saturation electric fields of 250 kV/cm, independent of poling temperatures

1473 EDITION OF 1 NOV 65 is OBSOLETE

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between 0° and 80°C. Piezoelectric responses from samples of varying crystallinity are consistent with increased polarization and lower compressibility

as the degree of crystallinity is increased.

Thermal pulse experiments reveal that when poled at room temperature,

only a thin region near the positive electrode is poled but the thickness of

this region increases with an increase in poling temperature.

Copolymer films crystallized from the melt in the presence of a field show

greatly improved stability of piezoelectric activity when stored at elevated

temperatures compared with samples poled only after crystallization.

The room temperature poling of polyviny lidene fluoride using a corona discharge has been confirmed. Preliminary results are presented which imply

that even the non-polar a phase of the polymer may be poled in this way but

it is unstable—especially at elevated temperatures.

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1. PUBLICATION OR REPORT NO.

NBSIR 76-1186

2. Gov’t Accession

No.

3. Recipient’s Accession No.

4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE

Piezoelectricity and Pyroelectricity in Crystalline Polymers

5. Publication Date December 1976

6. Performing Organization Code

7. author(S) q. t. Davis, M. G. Broadhurst 8. Performing Organ. Report No. NBSIR 76-1186

9. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

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Arlington , Va. 22217 14. Sponsoring Agency Code

15. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

16. ABSTRACT (A 200-word or less factual summary of most significant information. If document includes a significant

bibliography or literature survey, mention it here.)

Investigations on piezoelectricity and pyroelectricity in crystalline polymers have

been carried out using a copolymer of vinylidene fluoride and tetraf luoroethylene

which crystallizes directly from the melt into a polar crystal form. The crystalline

fraction is easily varied from 0.35 to 0.5. Alignment of the dipoles in an applied

electric field appears to approach saturation electric fields of 250 kV/cm, independent of poling temperatures between 0° and 80°C. Piezoelectric responses from samples

of varying crystallinity are consistent with increased polarization and lower compressibility as the degree of crystallinity is increased.

Thermal pulse experiments reveal that when poled at room temperature, only a thin

region near the positive electrode is poled but the thickness of this region increases

with an increase in poling temperature.

Copolymer films crystallized from the melt in the presence of a field show greatly

improved stability of piezoelectric activity when stored at elevated temperatures

compared with samples poled only after crystallization.

The room temperature poling of polyvinylidene fluoride using a corona discharge has

been confirmed. Preliminary results are presented which imply that even the non- polar a phase of the polymer may be poled in this way but it is unstable—especially

at elevated temperatures.

17. KEY WORDS (six to twelve entries; alphabetical order; capitalize only the first letter of the first key word unless a proper name; separated by semicolons) charge distribution; charge transfer; corona poling; dipole orientation; piezoelectricity; polarization; polyvinylidene fluoride; pyroelectricity; vinylidene fluoride copolymer

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