Performance of electroactive poly(vinylidene fluoride) against UV radiation

In this work, a study has been carried out to investigate the resistance of commercial poly(vinylidene fluoride) PVDF in its beta phase to UV radiation using a xenon lamp. The radiation was applied for 10 weeks and, during this time, the variation in the chemical structure, crystallinity, dielectric and piezoelectric response was monitored. The results show that PVDF has a very good resistance against the effect of UV radiation as no significant changes were detected either at a molecular level or in the electro-active response. It can be concluded that PVDF shows high stability towards photodegradation and can be used for outdoor applications without loss in performance. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved