A novel solvent casting preparation technique utilizing three variants of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) to achieve a thermal cut off and a self regulation effect at a low applied voltage is reported in this study. The positive temperature coefficient (PTC) composites were prepared by dissolving PVDF in 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) solvent, blending with Vulcan (R) XC72 carbon black (CB) filler, crosslinking with vinyl trimethoxysilane (VTMOS) and quenching in water. All composites displayed a highly macrovoidal structure that promoted a PTC effect when subjected to a thermal expansion effect via an electrical current. Subsequently the current was cut off and self regulation behavior was exhibited. Kynar (R) 761A PVDF resulted in the strongest PTC effect, and displayed temperature regulation at around 100 degrees C which may be attributed to the highly semi crystalline nature and the larger molecular weight of this polymer in comparison with the other PVDF composites studied. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 120: 3673-3678, 2011