Study of Structural, Phase, Morphological and Thermal Stability of Novel <scp>PVDF</scp> ‐ <scp>HFP</scp> / <scp>ZnO</scp> / <scp>GO</scp> Composite Films With Discrete <scp>GO</scp> Fillers

Abstract

ABSTRACT Electroactive polymer composites, which exhibit a combination of functional properties, hold promise for applications ranging from chemical sensing and biosensing to energy harvesting and environmental remediation, thereby contributing to the advancement of sustainable and efficient technologies. Polyvinylidene fluoride‐co‐hexafluoropropylene (PVDF‐HFP), zinc oxide (ZnO), and several loadings of graphene oxide (GO) were utilized to produce composite films. The obtained films were widely characterized by analyzing morphological, spectroscopic, and thermal properties. The analysis of the specimens revealed a homogeneous distribution of ZnO and GO. Notably, the GO in the ZnO/PVDF‐HFP induced an increase in the β‐phase ratio (up to 65% for PVDF‐HFP/ZnO/GO 1 ), calculated by using FTIR techniques. Dielectric analysis confirms that the incorporation of GO fillers (1%) leads to a great enhancement of the dielectric properties compared to the neat polymer. These observed improvements give valuable understandings into the features of the composite films and highlight their capability for use in piezoelectric energy harvesting purposes.