Development of polar phases in ferroelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) nanoparticles

Ferroelectric polymer nanoparticles of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) were prepared by dialysis nanoprecipitation. Particles with mean diameter of 230 nm show piezoelectric response as observed by Piezoresponse Force Microscopy (PFM). The origin of this ferroelectric behavior has been attributed to the presence of ferroelectrically active crystalline phases of PVDF in the nanoparticles (mainly β and γ phases) as demonstrated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and temperature dependent Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X ray diffraction. The combination of the preparation method and temperature treatment can provide a method for tuning the ferroelectricity in PVDF homopolymer nanoparticles.