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. 2018 Jul 5;10(7):745.
doi: 10.3390/polym10070745.

Breathable and Flexible Piezoelectric ZnO@PVDF Fibrous Nanogenerator for Wearable Applications

Minji Kim  1 , Yuen Shing Wu  2 , Edwin C Kan  3 , Jintu Fan  4
Affiliations

Breathable and Flexible Piezoelectric ZnO@PVDF Fibrous Nanogenerator for Wearable Applications

Minji Kim et al. Polymers (Basel). .

Abstract

A novel breathable piezoelectric membrane has been developed by growing zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods on the surface of electrospun poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) nanofibers using a low-temperature hydrothermal method. Significant improvement in the piezoelectric response of the PVDF membrane was achieved without compromising breathability and flexibility. PVDF is one of the most frequently used piezoelectric polymers due to its high durability and reasonable piezoelectric coefficient values. However, further enhancement of its piezoelectric response is highly desirable for sensor and energy-harvester applications. Previous studies have demonstrated that piezoelectric ceramic and polymer composites can have remarkable piezoelectric properties and flexibility. However, devices made of such composites lack breathability and some present health risks in wearable applications for containing heavy metals. Unlike other piezoelectric ceramics, ZnO is non-toxic material and has been widely used in many applications including cosmetics. The fabrication of ZnO@PVDF porous electrospun membrane involves a simple low-temperature ZnO growth in aqueous solution, which does not weaken the polarization of PVDF created during electrospinning in the high electric field.

Keywords: PVDF; ZnO; breathable; electrospin; fiber; hydrothermal growth; nano; nanogenerator; piezoelectric; wearable.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) An FESEM image of the ZnO nanorods grown on the surface of the electrospun PVDF nanofiber; (b) histogram of the length and diameter distributions of ZnO nanorods; (c) histogram of the diameter distribution of electrospun PVDF nanofibers.
Figure 2
Figure 2
FTIR spectra showing the effect of electrospinning and hydrothermal growth on PVDF crystalline phases.
Figure 3
Figure 3
XRD spectra of the PVDF pellet, PVDF membrane, and ZnO@PVDF.
Figure 4
Figure 4
TGA of PVDF membrane, and ZnO@PVDF.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The breathable fibrous nanogenerator (a) schematic illustration and (b) photo.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Open-circuit voltage measurements under 0.10 MPa impact of 1 Hz frequency: (a) conductive knitted fabric electrode nanogenerator; (b) aluminum foil electrode nanogenerator. The black lines are from PVDF, while the red lines from ZnO@PVDF.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Nanogenerator characteristics for PVDF and ZnO@PVDF 15 cm2 fiber mat: (a) load curves with resistive loads of 0.47, 15, 30, and 60 MΩ; (b) transient closed-circuit current measurements with the 15 MΩ resistive load.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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