Improving Bonding to Piezoelectric Poly(vinylidene fluoride) for Sensor Applications

Abstract Argon, oxygen, nitrogen and ammonia plasmas and an acid etch pretreatment were performed on uniaxially stretched piezoelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride) film in order to improve wettability and bonding. Oxygen plasma was found to be too harsh, but nitrogen and argon plasmas improved wettability and resulted in a seven-fold increase in 180° peel strengths. However, this improvement in peel strength was accompanied by a 90% decrease in the piezoelectric properties of the polymer. The acid etch yielded contact angles similar to those of the plasma treated material, and improved peel strengths some twelve times over that of the untreated film. Significantly, no piezoelectric loss resulted from the acid etch.