Ferro- and piezo-electric poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) thin film is reported to be obtained by using a poly(ionic liquid) (PIL) [poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) methyl chloride quaternary salt] through solution route. The short range interactions between localized cationic ions of PIL and polar >CF2 of PVDF are responsible for modified polar -PVDF (T(3)GT(3)?) formation. Modification in chain conformation of PVDF is confirmed by FTIR, XRD, and DSC studies suggesting the miscible PVDF-PIL (PPIL) blend. Up to 40 wt% loading of PIL in PVDF matrix enhances relative intensity of -phase up to 50% in the entire crystalline phase. The P-E hysteresis loop of PVDF-PIL blends at 25 wt% PIL loading (PPIL-25) thin film at sweep voltage of +/- 50 V shows excellent ferroelectric property with nearly saturated high remnant polarization approximate to 6.0 mu Ccm(-2) owing to large proportion of -PVDF. However, non-polar pure PVDF thin film shows unsaturated hysteresis loop with 1.4 mu Ccm(-2) remnant polarization. The operation voltage decreases effectively because of the polar -phase formation in PPIL blended film. High-sensitivity piezo-response force microscopy shows electromechanical switching property at low voltages in PPIL-25 thin films through local switching measurements, making them potentially suitable as ferroelectric tunnel barriers. (c) 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2018, 56, 795-802