3D printing of poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene): a poling-free technique to manufacture flexible and transpar
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Research Letter
3D printing of poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene): a poling-free technique to manufacture flexible and transparent piezoelectric generators Nick A. Shepelin , Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia Vanessa C. Lussini, Phillip J. Fox, and Greg W. Dicinoski, Note Issue Department, Reserve Bank of Australia, Craigieburn, Victoria 3064, Australia Alexey M. Glushenkov, Research School of Chemistry, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia; Research School of Electrical, Energy and Materials Engineering, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia Joseph G. Shapter, Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia Amanda V. Ellis , Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia Address all correspondence to Amanda V. Ellis at [email protected] (Received 4 December 2018; accepted 25 January 2019)
Abstract Flexible piezoelectric generators (PEGs) present a unique opportunity for renewable and sustainable energy harvesting. Here, we present a lowtemperature and low-energy deposition method using solvent evaporation-assisted three-dimensional printing to deposit electroactive poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)-trifluoroethylene (TrFE) up to 19 structured layers. Visible-wavelength transmittance was above 92%, while ATR-FTIR spectroscopy showed little change in the electroactive phase fraction between layer depositions. Electroactivity from the fabricated PVDF-TrFE PEGs showed that a single structured layer gave the greatest output at 289.3 mV peak-to-peak voltage. This was proposed to be due to shear-induced polarization affording the alignment of the fluoropolymer dipoles without an electric field or high temperature.
Introduction Renewable energy harvesting is gaining importance for reducing reliance on conventional fossil fuel-based techniques. While large-scale installations are currently the main focus of the renewable energy sector, the trends in portable, wearable, and implantable electronic devices have opened up new opportunities in personal-scale energy harvesting. A variety of energy harvesting mechanisms have been proposed for this purpose, such as triboelectricity (energy harvesting from frictional contact), pyroelectricity (energy harvesting through changes in temperature), and piezoelectricity (harvesting energy through mechanical forces), among others.[1–3] Of the piezoelectric materials, polymers such as poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) have been previously reported to show high electromechanical coupling, biocompatibility,[4,5] processability,[6,7] optical transparency,[8] and mechanical flexibility,[9] showing great promise in their utilization as flexible piezoelectric generators (PEGs). PVDF is a semi-crystalline polymer, which is generally deposited into the symmetric and non-electroactive α phase using conventional polymer-compatible method
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