Fabrication and Characterization of a Flexible PVDF Fiber-based Polymer Composite for High-performance Energy Harvesting Devices

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.