Epitaxial Crystal Growth of Polyvinylidene Fluoride on Ionic Crystals and One-Axially-Oriented Polymer Surfaces.

Abstract

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) was crystallized as thin films on (001) cleavage planes of ionic crystals as well as one-axially oriented polymer surfaces by using vacuum-evaporation or solution-growth technique. The polymer surfaces regulated the molecular orientation of PVDF. The ionic crystals controled the molecular conformation and produced the highly ordered a-form (on NaCl and KCI) and ƒÀ-form (on KBr) crystals of the polymer. Matching of the lattice spacings between the PVDF crystal and the substrates does not seem to be important in determining the crystalline form.

Freezing of High-Temperature Phase in Vinylidene Fluoride/Trifluoroethylene Copolymer Crystals on Vacuum-Evaporated Metal Surfaces

“…There have been numerous works on the epitaxial growth of polymer crystals on inorganic substrates, [1][2][3][4][5][6] which is an important method of controlling the atomic or molecular arrangement of materials. Although many studies on epitaxy have been performed for single-crystal substrates such as alkali halide, [1][2][3] graphite, 4) mica, 5) and metals, 6) the growth of polymer crystals on polycrystalline substrates is also considered to be an important research subject from the applicative viewpoint. For example, most of the prospective applications of thin polymer films for electronic and optoelectronic devices require polycrystalline metal electrodes.…”