Surface and interfacial properties of PVDF/acrylic copolymer blends before and after UV exposure

Morphological and chemical properties of both the surface and interface of poly(vinylidene fluoride)/poly(methyl methacrylate)-co-poly(ethyl acrylate) (PVDF/PMMA-co-PEA) blend films have been investigated before and after the samples were exposed to ultraviolet (UV) irradiation using a xenon arc lamp at 50 °C and 9% relative humidity (RH) for 7 months. Surface and interfacial morphologies were studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Chemical composition information was obtained by confocal Raman microscopy, attenuated total reflection-FTIR spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and contact angle measurements. Results show an enrichment of the PVDF material at the air surface, while the acrylic copolymer enriches the interface. Blends having greater than 50% mass fraction of PVDF show little change in the surface morphology after UV exposure for 7 months. However, for a lower PVDF content, blends exhibit significant degradation of PMMA-co-PEA copolymer and a much rougher surface after UV exposure. Microstructural changes in the PVDF spherulites are also observed after UV degradation. It is found that the surface and interfacial morphologies are correlated with the chemical properties.     

Photocatalytic and antifouling properties of TiO2-based photocatalytic membranes

Photocatalysis has been extensively studied due to its potential ability to avoid the excessive use of chemical reagents and reduce the energy consumption by employing solar energy. Moreover, to alleviate the reduction in the membrane permeation selectivity, separation efficiency, and membrane service life caused by the emerging micro-pollutants and membrane fouling, membrane technology is often coupled with microbial, electrochemical, and catalytic processes. However, although physical/chemical cleaning and membrane module replacement can overcome the inherent limitations caused by membrane fouling and other membrane separation processes, high operating costs limit their practical applications. In this review, common preparation methods for TiO₂ photocatalytic membranes are described in detail, and the main approaches to enhancing their photocatalytic performance are discussed. More importantly, the mechanism of the TiO₂ photocatalytic membrane antifouling process is elucidated, and some applications of photocatalytic membranes in other areas are described. This review systematically outlines future research directions in the field of photocatalytic membrane modification, including metal and non-metal doping, fabrication of heterojunction structures, control over reaction conditions, increase in hydrophilicity, and increase in membrane porosity.     

聚偏氟乙烯共混体系的压电性及其分子运动——Ⅱ.PVDF与 P(VDF-HFE)以及PVDF与P(VDF-TFE)的共混体系

本文研究了 PVDF-P(VDF-HFE)以及 PVDF-P(VDF-TFE)共混体系的压电、介电、力学松弛谱。其松弛转变过程基本与 PVDF 的相似。α,β,γ压电松弛峰分别位于40～120℃,-40℃,-85℃附近。实验结果表明后一体系的压电性大于前一体系的。同时,PVDF-P(VDF-TFE)的压电性也大于PVDF-PMMA 共混体系的。选择第二组分时,以介电常数高,模量小而本身又具有压电性的,更有助于共混薄膜压电性的提高。在同样的极化条件下,经拉伸的 P(VDF-TFE)薄膜,其压电性大于未经拉伸的薄膜,这表明分子的取向对薄膜的压电性也有影响。TSC 表明,42℃的松弛峰与晶区表面捕获的空间电荷有关,对压电性也有一定的贡献。     

氯化锂为添加剂制得的疏水聚偏氟乙烯不对称微孔膜的形态结构及其膜蒸馏性能

结合膜的形态结构研究了以 LiCl为添加剂制得的疏水 PVDF膜的膜蒸馏性能。与来用水溶液高分子添加剂制得的PVDF微孔膜相比,膜蒸馏性能有了较大提高,尤其具有更高的截留率。制得的微孔膜的蒸馏通量已接近商品膜的膜蒸馏通量,表明以LiCl为添加剂制得的PVDF疏水微孔膜是一种适用于膜蒸馏的较理想的疏水微孔膜。     

Thermal properties and structure of electrospun blends of PVDF with a fluorinated copolymer

We report the structure and thermal properties of blends comprising poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and a random fluorinated copolymer (FCP) of poly(methyl methacrylate)‐random‐1H,1H,2H,2H‐perfluorodecyl methacrylate, promising membrane materials for oil–water separation. The roles of processing method and copolymer content on structure and properties were studied for fibrous membranes and films with varying compositions. Bead‐free, nonwoven fibrous membranes were obtained by electrospinning. Fiber diameters ranged from 0.4 to 1.9 μm, and thinner fibers were obtained for PVDF content >80%. As copolymer content increased, degree of crystallinity and onset of degradation for each blend decreased. Processing conditions have a greater impact on the crystallographic phase of PVDF than copolymer content. Fibers have polar beta phase; solution‐cast films contain gamma and beta phase; and melt crystallized films form alpha phase. Kwei's model was used to model the glass transition temperatures of the blends. Addition of FCP increases hydrophobicity of the electrospun membranes. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2019 , 57, 312–322     

Predicting Polymorphism of Electrospun Polyvinylidene Fluoride Membranes by Their Morphologies

Although electrospinning of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) has been studied for more than 10 years, the crystalline phase differentiation of the electrospun mats is still normally through the combination of different characterization techniques, and the relationship between polymorphism and morphology of the fibers in electrospun PVDF membranes has never been reported. Here, we show their close relationships by conducting room-temperature electrospinning experiments on various polymer/solvent systems. The electrospun membranes full of bead-free fibers have a very high fraction of β-phase, F(β), over 90%, and high orientation, whereas the membranes comprising beads and/or a large number of beaded fibers most often result in a low fraction of β-phase (F(β) normally below 50%) and low orientation. On the other hand, electrospun membranes consisting of both bead-free fibers and a very limited number of beaded fibers showed a medium high fraction of β-phase, F(β) more than 70% but less than 90%. These findings suggest the feasibility of intuitively predicting the crystalline phase of electrospun PVDF membranes directly by their morphologies, which is obviously simple, inexpensive and convenient for future investigations.     

Synergic effect in electrical conductivity using a combination of two fillers in PVDF hybrids composites

The objective of this work was to prepare novel conductive blends of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) with polypyrrole (PPy) and to compare their performance with PVDF/multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) composites and novel PVDF/PPy/MWCNT hybrid systems. All the compositions were prepared by melt mixing using a miniature mixer. The mixtures were characterized by Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR), wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), thermogravimetric analyses (TGA), scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM, respectively) and volume electrical resistivity. For the binary PVDF/PPy and PVDF/MWCNT systems, percolation thresholds of 10 and 0.3 wt%, respectively, were found. In the hybrid systems, however, the percolation threshold for each filler was lower than in the binary systems, but the electrical conductivities were always much higher at all concentrations than the conductivities of the binary systems. Therefore, the addition of both fillers had a synergistic effect on the hybrid system conductivity, which was attributed to its morphology: the PPy increased the homogeneity of the MWCNT distribution and decreased the available free volume for the MWCNT; as a result the MWCNT rolled around the PPy particles bridging them through the PVDF matrix, increasing the quantum tunneling effect and thus, the electrical conductivity of the system.     

Broadband dielectric characterization of piezoelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride)thin films between 278 K and 308 K

This work describes the dielectric properties of piezoelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) thin films in the frequency and temperature ranges relevant for usual applications. We measured the isothermal dielectric relaxation spectra of commercial piezoelectric PVDF thin films between 10 Hz to 10 MHz, at several temperatures from 278 K to 308 K. Measurements were made for samples in mechanically free and clamped conditions, in the direction of the poling field (perpendicular to the film). We found that the imaginary part of the dielectric relaxation spectra of free and clamped PVDF samples is dominated by a peak, above 100 kHz, that can be characterized by a Havriliak-Negami function. The characteristic time follows an Arrhenius dependence on temperature. Moreover, the spectra of the free PVDF samples show two additional peaks at low frequencies which are associated with mechanical relaxation processes. Our results are important for the characterization of piezoelectric PVDF, particularly after the stretching and poling processes in thin films, and for the design and characterization of a broad range of ultrasonic transducers.     

Biaxial tensile behavior and strength of architectural fabric membranes

The utilization of composite fabric membrane materials for large-span membrane structures has attracted considerable attention in recent decades due to enhanced material properties. Biaxial mechanical properties with respect to real engineering applications are essential and indispensable in comparison with uniaxial ones. This study focuses on true biaxial characteristics of a typical polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)-coated polyester membrane material in terms of stress-strain characteristics and breaking criteria.The true stress-strain curves obtained from an experimental study, i.e. seven loading ratios on the basis of symmetry and typical conditions, are investigated with digital image correlation method. The interpolation of these curves in combination of least square method achieves a three-dimensional strain surface as a function of warp and weft strains, which is useful to assess reasonable structural behavior. A new breaking criteria intended for architectural fabric membrane is proposed in analogy to Tsai-Hill, Yeh-Stratton and Norris failure criteria. The basic constants in the criteria are determined using experimental results. A comparative analysis between available uniaxial and biaxial criteria shows that the new criteria can cover all criteria due to the fact that biaxial mechanical properties are larger than uniaxial ones. Furthermore, a similar but glued specimen is employed to compare welded specimens. It is obtained that observations, values and curve tendency are similar, demonstrating the suitability of using new specimens to identify true biaxial properties.