Crosslinked P(VDF-HFP)/PEDOT:PSS-P(VDF-HFP) blend bilayer films with strong interfacial polarization for actuators

Abstract

Electroactive polymer materials are widely applied in wearable electronic devices and artificial muscles because of their spontaneous polarization under the electric field. PVDF and its copolymers are the most common ferroelectric polymers, but it is difficult to produce large deformation under low electric field due to its poor flexibility and relatively low permittivity. In this paper, P(VDF-HFP) was reacted with polyether amine to prepare ferroelectric elastomer with low crosslinking density. As a plasticizer and crosslinker, polyether amine significantly reduced the Young’s modulus and the crystallinity of the P(VDF-HFP) films. The bending displacement of the films could reach 1.78 mm under the voltage of 2000 V, which was 16 times that of the P(VDF-HFP) film. In addition, due to the significant diversity in permittivity between the two layers of the films, there was a significant interface polarization in the bilayer films. The PEDOT:PSS/P(VDF-HFP) films further improved the bending electromechanical properties of the crosslinked membrane, and bending displacement of the bilayer films enormously increased to 8.095 mm under the voltage of 2000 V.