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Phase transformation of poly (vinylidene difluoride) in energy harvesting

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Abstract

The poly (vinylidene difluoride) (PVDF) has been of great interest for energy conversion of microelectromechanical system devices. A semicrystalline polymer, the PVDF has five crystallo-graphic forms, α, β, γ, δ, and ϵ. The latter four structures exhibit a permanent dipole moment. In this research, we investigated effects of microstructures of the PVDF on its piezoelectricity for energy harvesting. Using various experimental techniques, we observed the power density generated by a mechanical force that was correlated with the phase transformation between amorphous, α, β, and γ phases. The transformation was time-dependent in a nonlinear manner. Such transformation influences the energy transition and storage of small devices.

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Acknowledgments

Assistance by Taekwon Jee, Hyungoo Lee, and Ke Wang was appreciated. The authors wish to acknowledge the support by the National Science Foundation (NSF) (0515930).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, 77843-3123, USA

    Hong Liang, Rodrigo Cooper & Jason Files

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  1. Hong Liang
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  2. Rodrigo Cooper
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Correspondence to Hong Liang.

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This paper has been selected as an Invited Feature Paper.

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Liang, H., Cooper, R. & Files, J. Phase transformation of poly (vinylidene difluoride) in energy harvesting. Journal of Materials Research 26, 1–8 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2010.81

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