Fully Solution-Processed Polymeric Multilayer Piezoelectric Devices

This study demonstrates fully solution-processed polymeric multilayer piezoelectric devices. The key challenge, the effective control of the redissolution issue that will cause severe electrical shorting and inconsistent piezoelectric output, is overcome by searching for and using a solvent that offers adequate solubility but extremely slow dissolution for the piezoelectric polymer. The solvent screening methodology is established and demonstrated. The process parameters is systematically optimized to maximize the piezoelectric performance of the multilayer devices. The multilayer devices can output a high charge density of 376 mu C m-2, even higher than the record charge density of 250 mu C m-2 achieved by traditional contact electrification-based triboelectric nanogenerators operated in ambient air. The crucial factors for increasing device fabrication yield, namely resistance to short circuits and poling-induced breakdown, are analyzed. The potential of multilayer devices in practical applications is demonstrated using a five-layer device as a direct power source and energy harvester. More importantly, the process developed here is transferrable for cost-effective high-throughput roll-to-roll production. This work thus lays the foundation for the mass production of polymeric multilayer piezoelectric devices and paves the way for their future commercialization.