Effect of crystallization temperature on the crystalline phase content and morphology of poly(vinylidene fluoride)

The effect of temperature on the crystallization of α, β, and γ phases of PVDF from dimethylacetamide (DMA) solution was studied. Variation in the crystallinity content of these three phases was obtained as a function of temperature using infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and x-ray diffraction techniques. Such variation is related to the dependence of the crystallization rate of each phase with temperature, and allowed a better understanding of some results found in the literature about the crystallization and interconversion of these phases. Micrographs of samples present morphologies that corroborate with the proposed explanations. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.