Polymer composite of poly (vinylidene fluoride)— 2-methyl- 4-nitroaniline via hot-pressing technique; structural, optical and electrical properties

Abstract

Semitransparent (45% transparency at 1 μm) composites comprising poly (vinylidene fluoride) [PVDF] and 2-methyl- 4-nitroaniline [MNA] were fabricated by home-built hot-pressing technique. The composite nature of thus fabricated samples was confirmed via x-ray powder diffraction (XRD) studies. Formation of β-phase (2θ ∼ 20.7 (200)) was observed in the hot-pressed PVDF-MNA composites through XRD data. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) carried out on these samples revealed the presence of platy and rod shaped features of individual crystallite of MNA (nearly 5–20 μm) embedded in the PVDF matrix. Optical transmission for 10 wt% MNA in PVDF was found to be around 40% (uncorrected for the reflection/scattering losses) at 446 nm and has higher towards longer wavelengths. The second harmonic generation (SHG) studies confirmed an increase in intensity with an increase in weight percentage of MNA in PVDF. Room temperature dielectric constant and dielectric loss measurements were conducted on the hot-pressed PVDF and composites of PVDF and MNA as a function of frequency (100 Hz-100 MHz). The polarization versus electric field (Hysteresis loop) behaviour of hot-pressed PVDF and composites of MNA and PVDF was also investigated. The remnant polarization (2Pr = 0.246 μC/cm2) was observed the semitransparent hot-pressed composite (10 wt% MNA in PVDF).