Effects of Nanoporous Anodic Alumina Oxide on the Crystallization and Melting Behavior of Poly(vinylidene fluoride).

Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) nanotubes were fabricated by melt-wetting into porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates with two different interfacial properties: one is pristine AAO, and the other is modified by FOTS (AAO-F). Their crystallization and melting behaviors are compared with those of a bulk sample. For the PVDF in AAO-F, the nonisothermal crystallization temperature is slightly lower than that of bulk, and the melting temperature is similar to that of bulk. For the PVDF in pristine AAO, when the pore diameter is 200 nm, the crystallization is induced by two kinds of nucleation: heterogeneous nucleation and interface-induced nucleation. On the contrary, in the AAO template with pore diameter smaller than 200 nm, only interface-induced nucleation occurs. The melting temperature of PVDF crystals in the pristine AAO is much higher than that of bulk which can be attributed to the presence of an interfacial layer of PVDF on the template inner surface. The interaction between PVDF and AAO template produces the interfacial layer. Such an interfacial layer plays an important role in enhancing the melting temperature of PVDF crystals. The higher melting peak is always observed when the PVDF is nonisothermally crystallized in the AAO template irrespective of the thermal erasing temperature suggesting the interfacial layer is very stable on the AAO template surface. If the PVDF nanostructures are released from AAO template, the higher melting peak disappears with the enhancement of thermal erasing temperature.