Reorientational dynamics of dipoles in poly(vinylidene fluoride)/ poly(methyl methacrylate) (PVDF/PMMA) blends by dielectric spectroscopy

The reorientational dynamics of dipoles in poly(vinylidene fluoride)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PVDF/PMMA) blends were investigated by dielectric spectroscopy. Measurements were performed over a wide range of temperature and frequency, and previously unavailable results are reported. Various relaxation processes were identified and their locations assigned to the different morphological regions in PVDF, PMMA, and PVDF/PMMA blends. The development of a relaxation process associated with the imperfections in the crystalline phase was recorded both in pure PVDF and in crystalline blends. An amorphous interphase and a liquid-like amorphous phase are present in pure PVDF, but their relaxation dynamics are dielectrically indistinguishable, giving rise to a single non-Arrhenius relaxation mechanism. In the crystalline blends, however, the interphase is devoid of PMMA, and its relaxation dynamics are readily distinguishable from those of the PVDF/PMMA miscible phase. Interestingly, the relaxation dynamics in the interphase were found to vary as a function of blend composition. Since the relaxation processes are governed by cooperativity, an explanation of our findings is offered in terms of the interactive nature of the relaxation process.