Differences in electroactive terpolymers based on VDF, TrFE and 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene prepared by batch solution and semi-continuous aqueous suspension polymerizations.
Résumé
In the search for new fluorinated electroactive copolymers, 0–8 mol% of 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene
(1234yf) was terpolymerized with vinylidene fluoride (VDF) and trifluoroethylene (TrFE). The reactivity in
batch solution polymerization of 1234yf was evaluated. First, reactivity ratio measurements showed that
homopropagation of 1234yf is favored compared to cross propagation with VDF or TrFE (rVDF-1234yf =
0.079, r1234yf-VDF = 2.6; and rTrFE-1234yf = 0.089, r1234yf-TrFE = 4.9, at 48 °C). Then, the study of a typical
batch solution polymerization revealed that the polymerization time was not affected by the initial
amount of 1234yf and that polymer chains with strong compositional heterogeneity were obtained. Based on
these results, a semi-continuous aqueous suspension polymerization process was used for the synthesis of
terpolymers with a more homogeneous composition. Calculation of addition probabilities exemplified the
changes in the drift of composition. The monomer sequences in the poly(VDF-ter-TrFE-ter-1234yf) terpolymers,
carefully studied by 19F NMR spectroscopy, were not affected by the polymerization process and were
dominated by VDF-TrFE and VDF-1234yf dyads. Finally, the thermal and ferroelectric (FE) properties of the
homogeneous and heterogeneous terpolymers were characterized and compared. In the case of heterogeneous
terpolymers, increasing the 1234yf content from 0 to 6 mol% slightly decreased the crystal size and
the overall crystallinity (Tm = 60 °C and ΔHm = 144 J g−1 for a poly(VDF66-ter-TrFE26-ter-1234yf8) terpolymer).
On the contrary, for homogeneous terpolymers, 5 mol% of 1234yf strongly affected both the Curie and
melting transitions at TCurie = 37 °C and Tm = 107 °C. The reduced coercive field (Ec = 40 MV m−1) and
remnant polarization (Pr = 22 mC m−2) for the homogeneous terpolymer compared to a reference
poly(VDF65-co-TrFE35) (Ec = 62 MVm−1 and Pr = 45 mCm−2) transcribed modifications of the FE domains.