Polar Phase Formation and Piezoelectricity of PVDF by Hot-pressing under Electrostatic Intermolecular Interactions

• Published in: Chinese journal of polymer science Vol. 40; no. 7; pp. 799 - 806
• Main Authors: Zhao, Jing-Hua, He, Bao-Sheng, Li, Ao-Shen, Wang, Chao-Nan, Li, Qing-Qing, Hu, Zhi-Jun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Singapore Springer Nature Singapore 01.07.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Actuators; Cellulose; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Chitosan; Condensed Matter Physics; Dipoles; Energy harvesting; Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering; Phases; Piezoelectricity; Polymer Sciences; Polyvinylidene fluorides; Pressing; Research Article; Vinylidene fluoride; Piezoelectricity; Poly(vinylidene fluoride); Electrostatic interactions; Hot-pressing
• ISSN: 0256-7679; 1439-6203
• DOI: 10.1007/s10118-022-2706-4

Piezoelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) has received considerable attention due to its ability of interconverting mechanical into electric energies and potential applications in wearable electronics. To achieve piezoelectricity, it is important to simultaneously control the formation of polar phases, crystallinity, and dipole alignments in PVDF-based films. Here we demonstrate that piezoelectricity can be obtained by directly hot-pressing PVDF films sandwiched between chitosan or cellulose films. The electrostatic interactions between PVDF and chitosan or cellulose enabled an exceptional high content of polar phases ( β - and γ -phases) up to 90% and a measured piezoelectric charge coefficient d 33 of up to −30 pC/N. This study provides a simple and low-cost approach for obtaining piezoelectric PVDF films used for sensors, actuators, and energy harvesters.