This project deals with the development of a family of piezoelectric ceramic polymer composites with high sensitivity for sensor applications. Composites consisting of three-dimensionally connected polymer matrix loaded with discrete ceramic particles are especially interesting because of their large piezoelectric voltage coefficients, flexibility, and ease of fabrication. To achieve useful piexoelectric properties, a higher volume fraction of filler is necessary. Fabrication procedures presently used for this type of composite are limited by the difficulty in incorporating higher loading of the ceramic filler in the incorporating higher loading of the ceramic filler in the polymer matrix. This project will develop a new preparation procedure to prepare composites with a high volume of piezoelectric ceramics (lead zirconate titanate, lead titanate, lead zinc niobate) and various piezoelectric coefficients for a variety of applications. Conventional and corona discharge poling techniques will be used to electrically polarize the composites. The effect of using a coupling agent on dielectric and piezoelectric properties of composites will also be investigated.
