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ABSTRACT Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)/Fe(IO3)3 nanocomposite thin films are obtained by in situ particle generation in microemulsions and subsequent photopolymerization of a mixture containing methyl methacrylate, trimethylolpropane triacrylate, and crystallized iron iodate (Fe(IO3)3) nanorods. Hyper-Rayleigh scattering measurements combined with X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and dynamic light scattering are first used to probe in situ the crystallization kinetics of iron iodate nanorods in water-in-oil microemulsions prepared with methyl methacrylate as the oil phase and marlophen NP12 as a surfactant. Trimethylolpropane triacrylate is then added as a crosslinker before spin-coating. Films are deposited on glass substrates for the nonlinear optical characterizations and on silicon wafers for the piezoelectric and mechanical measurements. Nanocomposite films treated by corona discharge are finally characterized through optical microscopy, laser Doppler vibrometry, and Brillouin spectroscopy. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 1203-1211, 2013 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents for the first time a flexible over-moded resonator (OMR) based on P(VDF-TrFE) thin films. The devices were manufactured on commercially available elastic substrate with inkjet-printed electrodes. The sensing copolymer films used in the devices were polarized by the corona method after electrode deposition. The main performance parameters of the component were then determined. The manufactured OMRs on P(VDF-TrFE) exhibited a linear variation of frequency versus temperature and a very large value of temperature coefficient of frequency (TCF ≫ 1600 ppm/°C). These properties suggest a great potential for using such components as low-cost and high-precision temperature sensors. The electromechanical coupling coefficient and the quality factor of the resonator were also characterized versus temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]