Optimizing Piezoelectric Coefficient in PVDF Fibers: Key Strategies for Energy Harvesting and Smart Textiles

With the advancement in smart electronic devices and self-powered devices, the demand for piezoelectric polymers has found potential research interest. Among these, electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) fibers have gained attention for energy harvesting due to their flexibility and higher piezoelectric coefficient. In the current work, various methods are compared to enhance PVDF's piezoelectric properties, including different solvents (DMAc, DMF), conductive filler (rGO), and annealing as post-treatment. The results indicate that PVDF/rGO fibers in DMAc solvent exhibit the highest & beta; phase fraction and crystallinity. Moreover, for the first time, the piezoelectric properties of PVDF/rGO electrospun single fiber is presented using high voltage switching spectroscopy piezoelectric force microscopy (HVSS-PFM). The highest piezoelectric coefficient (d33) is measured for PVDF/DMAc-rGO composite fibers. Notably, PVDF/rGO in DMAc solvent significantly improves the piezoelectric coefficient, leading to a remarkable fourfold increase in power density compared to pure PVDF, making it a promising material for energy harvesting applications. A notable enhancement is demonstrated in the piezoelectric coefficient of PVDF when it is dissolved in DMAc incorporated with 1% of rGO. This improvement leads to a remarkable increase in power density compared to pristine PVDF. The results indicate the promising potential application of PVDF+rGO fibers as a smart material for energy harvesting.image