Preparation and Property Enhancement of Poly(Vinylidene Fluoride) (PVDF)/Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) Composite Piezoelectric Films

In this paper, two methods (magnetic stirring and mechanical ball milling) were used to modify the surface of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) particles. Then, poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/PZT piezoelectric films were prepared by extrusion casting and solvent casting. We investigated the mechanical, dielectric, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric properties, as well as the breakdown strength of the PVDF/PZT films. We found that adding PZT particles improved the mechanical stability of the films under variable temperature conditions. Modification by the UP-105 titanate coupling reagent further improved the combination and dispersion of PZT@105 particles in PVDF. The films prepared by extrusion casting showed improved properties in terms of density, dielectric constant, breakdown strength, and piezoelectric coefficient. The piezoelectric coefficient (d33) of the PVDF/PZT@105 composite film (with 25 wt.% PZT@105) prepared by extrusion casting reached 35 pC/N, and the electromechanical strain ratio was almost 1.6%, which is higher than that of piezoelectric ceramics.