Palladium nanoparticles (Pd-NP's) are prepared by a simple one-step procedure when poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) is used as a polymer stabilizer. High-quality Pd-NP-doped PVDF thin films are fabricated where the heat-controlled spin-coating technique is adopted. The effect of Pd-NP's on the crystal modifications and lamellae orientation in PVDF films is investigated using Fourier transform infrared-grazing incidence reflection absorption spectroscopy. The electroactive β phase and edge-on crystalline lamellae are found to be formed preferentially in Pd-NP-doped PVDF films. As a result, Pd-NP-doped PVDF ultrathin films gave a very good discernible contrast between the written and erased data bits, which suggests that they can be used as a scanning-probe-microscopy-based ferroelectric memory device or a ferroelectric gate field-effect transistor memory device in the future.

Nanoscale thin films of PVDF containing the β‐crystalline phase were directly prepared by heat‐controlled spin coating without the influence of external stimuli either in the form of additives or post‐treatments. Sample preparation was carried out at different temperatures, ranging from 10 to 70 °C. At elevated temperatures (40, 50, 60 and 70 °C), PVDF was crystallized into the β‐phase, while at near‐ambient conditions (20 and 30 °C) it was crystallized into the α‐phase. Some samples exhibited a phase‐segregated morphology, with varying particle sizes depending on the preparation temperature. The ferroelectric nature of a typical sample, prepared at 40 °C, was visualized by piezoresponse imaging studies.magnified image

No abstract

No abstract

Ultra‐thin films of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and its organically modified silicate (OMS) nanocomposites were prepared by heat‐controlled spin coating and characterized using FTIR‐GIRAS, AFM, DC‐EFM, and P–E measurements. Incorporation of OMS, Lucentite STN into the PVDF matrix favored the preferential formation of β‐phase in nanoscale thin films, irrespective of preparation temperature. The PVDF–OMS nanocomposite films have a little higher degree of orientation of molecular chains along the ITO substrate surface than that of the neat PVDF film. This gave the PVDF–OMS nanocomposite higher remanent polarization and better contrast in a DC‐EFM phase image. Unlike the thick PVDF–OMS nanocomposites films showing only α‐crystalline phase after quenching and slow cooling from the melt, the nanoscale thin PVDF–OMS films showed a mixture of β‐ and γ‐crystalline phases without any trace of α‐crystalline phase.