We prepared poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) nanocomposites using the electrospinning process and investigated the effects of varying the MWCNT content, as well as the additional use of drawing and poling on the polymorphic behavior and electroactive (piezoelectric) properties of the membranes obtained. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and wide-angle X-ray diffraction revealed that dramatic changes occurred in the β-phase crystal formation with the MWCNT loading. This was attributed to the nucleation effects of the MWCNTs as well as the intense stretching of the PVDF jets in the electrospinning process. The remanent polarization and piezoelectric response increased with the amount of MWCNTs and piezoelectric β-phase crystals. A further mechanical stretching and electric poling process induced not only highly oriented β-phase crystallites, but also very good ferroelectric and piezoelectric performances. In the drawn samples, the interfacial interaction between the functional groups on the MWCNTs and the CF 2 dipole of PVDF chains produced a large amount of βphase content. In the poled samples, the incorporation of the MWCNTs made it easy to obtain efficient charge accumulation in the PVDF matrix, resulting in the conversion of the α-phase into the β-phase as well as the enhancement of remanent polarization and mechanical displacement.

Summary: The novel potential epoxy resins, epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) and epoxidized castor oil (ECO), were synthesized and characterized. The cationic polymerization of ESO and ECO with a latent thermal catalyst, N‐benzylpyrazinium hexafluoroantimonate (BPH), was initiated at 80 and 50 °C, respectively. The cured ECO samples showed a higher Tg and lower coefficient of thermal expansion than those of ESO, due to the higher intermolecular interaction in the ECO/BPH system.Relationships between ESO or ECO conversion and temperature in the polymerization with 1 wt.‐% BPH for 2 h.imageRelationships between ESO or ECO conversion and temperature in the polymerization with 1 wt.‐% BPH for 2 h.

Summary: Biobased epoxy materials were prepared from diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) and epoxidized castor oil (ECO) initiated by a latent thermal catalyst. The physicochemical and mechanical interfacial properties of the DGEBA/ECO blends were investigated. As a result, the thermal stability of the cured epoxy blends showed a maximum value in the presence of 10 wt.‐% ECO content, which was attributed to the excellent network structure in the DGEBA/ECO blends. The storage modulus and glass transition temperature of the blends were lower than those of neat epoxy resins. The mechanical interfacial properties of the cured specimens were significantly increased with increasing the ECO content. This could be interpreted in terms of the addition of larger soft segments of ECO into the epoxy resins and thus reducing the crosslinking density of the epoxy network, which results in increasing toughness in the blends.KIC values of the DGEBA/ECO blends as a function of ECO content.magnified imageKIC values of the DGEBA/ECO blends as a function of ECO content.

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