AbstractPoly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) was incorporated in situ with silica by a sol‐gel process involving tetraethoxysilane. The mechanical properties of these in situ hybrids were compared with those of PVDF composites mechanically blended with 14‐nm diameter fumed silica particles. The ultimate strength of the in situ hybrids was higher than that of the blend composites, since fumed silica particles aggregate and act as mechanically weak points. The thermal analysis, dynamic viscoelastic properties, and dielectric properties were compared. The β‐relaxation of PVDF caused by the glass transition was observed at around −40°C in the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and the mechanical tan δ curves and at −30°C in the dielectric loss factor (ϵ”) curve. The αc‐relaxation due to the molecular motion in the crystalline phase occurred at 61°C in DSC curve, at 100°C in the tan δ curve, and at 80°C in the ϵ” curve. The peak positions of these relaxations did not change, but the peak intensities were decreased with the increase in silica content for both the in situ hybrids and blend composites. The activation energies for PVDF were calculated as 136 kJ/mol for the β‐relaxation and 96 kJ/mol for the αc‐relaxation. The result that these activation energies did not depend on silica content may indicate the weak int
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