A study of the drawing behavior of polyvinylidene fluoride

The drawing behavior of different molecular weight PVDF grades has been investigated over the temperature range 140–160°C, with particular reference to the production of material with enhanced mechanical and electrical properties. Lower molecular weight grades, which have been subjected to a slow‐cooled rather than a quenched moulding procedure yield higher Young's moduli when drawn to a given draw ratio. X‐ray diffraction measurements have demonstrated that the crystalline regions of specimens drawn to high draw ratios under these conditions consist predominantly of the piezo‐ and pyroelectric form I phase. The relationship between the proportion of from I phase and the final drawing stress has been shown to be unique over the temperature range investigated, irrespective of molecular weight and thermal processing history.