Influence of High Contents of Silver Nanoparticles on the Physical Properties of Poly(Vinylidene Fluoride)

Silver (Ag) nanoparticles were incorporated into poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) up to 90 wt% (15.3 vol%) via melt mixing. The addition of Ag nanoparticles slightly increased the crystallization temperature and heat of crystallization of PVDF by 1.2°C and 5.1 J/g at 90 wt% loading, respectively. In the thermal degradation behaviors, high contents of Ag nanoparticles more than 50 wt% induced a negative effect on the thermal stability of the matrix by decreasing the onset temperature of the degradation as much as 40°C. Thermal conductivity was slightly increased with Ag content up to 5 wt%, but further addition of Ag induced a notable increase because of the high thermal conductivity of Ag nanoparticles. In the WAXD (Wide Angle X-ray Diffraction) patterns, all the samples presented only α-phase crystal regardless of Ag loading. Both tensile strength and elongation at break were decreased from 5 wt% loading with increasing Ag content.