Journal of Sensor Science and Technology (센서학회지)

The Korean Sensors Society (한국센서학회)
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Fabrication and Characterization of a Flexible PVDF Fiber-based Polymer Composite for High-performance Energy Harvesting Devices

  • Nguyen, Duc-Nam (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology) ;
  • Moon, Wonkyu (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology)
  • Received : 2019.07.02
  • Accepted : 2019.07.12
  • Published : 2019.07.31
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Abstract

A flexible polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)/polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composite prototype with high piezoelectricity and force sensitivity was constructed, and its huge potential for applications such as biomechanical energy harvesting, self-powered health monitoring system, and pressure sensors was proved. The crystallization, piezoelectric, and electrical properties of the composites were characterized using an X-ray diffraction (XRD) experiment and customized experimental setups. The composite can sustain up to 100% strain, which is a huge improvement over monolithic PVDF fibers and other PVDF-based composites in the literature. The Young's modulus is 1.64 MPa, which is closely matched with the flexibility of the human skin, and shows the possibility for integrating PVDF/PDMS composites into wearable devices and implantable medical devices. The $300{\mu}m$ thick composite has a 14% volume fraction of PVDF fibers and produces high piezoelectricity with piezoelectric charge constants $d_{31}=19pC/N$ and $d_{33}=34pC/N$, and piezoelectric voltage constants $g_{31}=33.9mV/N$ and $g_{33}=61.2mV/N$. Under a 10 Hz actuation, the output voltage was measured at 190 mVpp, which is the largest output signal generated from a PVDF fiber-based prototype.

Keywords

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Fig. 1. Fabrication procedure for uniaxial PVDF fiber/PDMS compsite

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Fig. 2. Simulation of electric potential distribution on the EpCA ES setup

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Fig. 3. SEM of electrospun PVDF fibers.

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Fig. 4. The measurement system of (a) d31 value and (b) d33 value

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Fig. 5. The relative impact of different parameters in the case of targeting to (a) (b) (c) fiber diameter and (d) fiber alignment level.

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Fig. 6. The SEM micrograph of PVDF fibers fabricated under optimum conditions

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Fig. 7. Stress-strain curve of the three PVDF/PDMS composite samples

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Fig. 8. X-ray diffraction spectrum of PVDF fibers. The spectrum reveals a high percentage of β-phase at a peak of 20.8°.

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Fig. 9. The measurement data of piezoelectric charge and piezoelectric voltage constant

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Fig. 10. Voltages generated under the same pressure in the axial loading direction at different frequencies: 10 Hz, 20 Hz, 40 Hz, and 60 Hz.

Table 1. Implementation procedure for applying Taguchi’s method

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Table 2. Design of Experiment and results for the fiber diameter

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Table 3. Design of Experiment and results as the Quality character is fiber alignment

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Table 4. Summary of reports on PVDF-based composite and PVDF monolithic fibers. NFES: Near-field Electrospinning, FFES: Far-field Electrospinning, CNT: Carbon Nanotube, N/A: Not available

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