Supplementary Information Mechanical energy harvesting via plasticizer modified electrostrictive polymer

Supplementary Information

Mechanical energy harvesting via plasticizer modified electrostrictive polymer

Xunqian Yin, Jean-Fabien Capsal^a) , Mickaël Lallart, Pierre-Jean Cottinet and Daniel Guyomar

Laboratoire de Génie Electrique et Ferroélectricité (LGEF), Université de Lyon, INSA de Lyon, EA682, 8 Rue de la Physique, 69100, Villeurbanne, France

1. 
   Preparation of plasticizer DEHP modified terpolymer
   

The all-organic composite of P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) terpolymer modified with plasticizer DEHP was prepared by a simple solution-casting method.

Terpolymer was first dissolved in methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) with help of the electromagnetic stirrer at a temperature of 70 °C for 4 h. The mass fraction of P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE)/MEK solution is 10 wt.%. DEHP with desired mass was secondly added into the solution and stirred for another 4 h. The mass fraction of DEHP in the all-organic composite is 2.5 wt.%.

The as-prepared solution was cooled to room temperature and put into a refrigerator for 48 h to stabilize the solution and to move the air within the solution. Solution with desired mass was poured into a petri dish with a diameter of 10 mm. A teflon cover was used to cover the petri dish 3 h to get a well distributed liquid within the petri dish. And then, teflon cover was taken off and the solvent MEK evaporated and finally we got the P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE)/DEHP composite film.

The solution-casted film was taken from the petri dish and put into an oven to remove the residual solvent at 70 °C for 2 h. And continuously, the film was annealed at 110 °C for 2 h to improve its crystallinity. The thickness of as-prepared film is in the range of 70-80 μm.

2.