

FOLLOWUS
a.School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
b.School of Physics, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
yliang@ecust.edu.cn (Y.L.)
zhangzhen@ecust.edu.cn (Z.Z.)
Received:16 January 2026,
Accepted:11 March 2026,
Online First:26 May 2026,
Published:15 August 2026
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Wang, B. Y.; Zhao, H. Y.; Ji, X.; Hu, W.; Duan, Y. R.; Li, J. Z.; Zhang, Z. H.; Liang, Y.; Fang, B.; Zhang, Z. Facile construction of hierarchical polymeric positive temperature coefficient composites for improved reproducibility. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 2681–2690
Bao-Yu Wang, Heng-Yu Zhao, Xin Ji, et al. Facile Construction of Hierarchical Polymeric Positive Temperature Coefficient Composites for Improved Reproducibility[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(8): 2681-2690.
Wang, B. Y.; Zhao, H. Y.; Ji, X.; Hu, W.; Duan, Y. R.; Li, J. Z.; Zhang, Z. H.; Liang, Y.; Fang, B.; Zhang, Z. Facile construction of hierarchical polymeric positive temperature coefficient composites for improved reproducibility. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 2681–2690 DOI: 10.1007/s10118-026-3658-x.
Bao-Yu Wang, Heng-Yu Zhao, Xin Ji, et al. Facile Construction of Hierarchical Polymeric Positive Temperature Coefficient Composites for Improved Reproducibility[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(8): 2681-2690. DOI: 10.1007/s10118-026-3658-x.
A solution-mixing strategy based on the solubility difference of polymers was employed to fabricate hierarchical polymeric positive temperature coefficient (PPTC) composites. Benefiting from the relay function of the PA1010/TiC particles
the reproducibility was significantly improved.
Adopting composite matrices has great significance for improving the performance of polymeric positive temperature coefficient (PPTC) materials. However
the uncontrollable selective distribution of fillers in different matrices induced by the differences in compatibility severely limits the flexible design and regulation of conductive networks. A solution-mixing strategy based on the solubility difference of polymer matrices in different solvents was employed to flexibly fabricate hierarchical PPTC composites
achieving the precise localization of conductive fillers. In the hierarchical structure
PVDF/TiC served as the first-level PTC material
whereas the PA1010/TiC particles acted as the other-level PTC material. The PA1010/TiC particles serving as relay stations also participated in the construction of the PVDF/TiC conductive network. Benefiting from the restriction effect of the PA1010/TiC particles for the PVDF chains and TiC fillers
the negative temperature coefficient (NTC) effect was effectively suppressed
and a maximum
I
PTC
of 8.9 was obtained. Moreover
in cyclic testing
the PVDF phase crystallized posterior to the PA1010 phase
generating compression and releasing latent heat for the PA1010 phase
which synergistically reinforced the crystallization of the PA1010 phase
enabling rapid reconstruction of long-range conductive networks in the entire system. Therefore
the reproducibility and
I
hold
of the hierarchical PPTC thermistor were significantly improved. This strategy not only breaks the bottleneck of the selective distribution of fillers in the multi-matrix of PPTC materials
but also achieves dynamic control of hierarchical conductive networks
suggesting a new pathway toward the overall improvement of the performance of PPTC thermistors.
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