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Effect of electrospinning parameters and polymer concentrations on mechanical-to-electrical energy conversion of randomly-oriented electrospun poly(vinylidene fluoride) nanofiber mats
journal contribution
posted on 2015-01-01, 00:00 authored by Hao Shao, Jian Fang, Hong Wang, Tong LinPoly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) nanofiber mats prepared by an electrospinning technique were used as an active layer for making mechanical-to-electric energy conversion devices. The effects of PVDF concentration and electrospinning parameters (e.g. applied voltage, spinning distance), as well as nanofiber mat thickness on the fiber diameter, PVDF β crystal phase content, and mechanical-to-electrical energy conversion properties of the electrospun PVDF nanofiber mats were examined. It was interesting to find that finer uniform PVDF fibers showed higher β crystal phase content and hence, the energy harvesting devices had higher electrical outputs, regardless of changing the electrospinning parameters and PVDF concentration. The voltage output always changed in the same trend to the change of current output whatever the change trend was caused by the operating parameters or polymer concentration. Both voltage and current output changes followed a similar trend to the change of the β crystal phase content in the nanofibers. The nanofiber mat thickness influenced the device electrical output, and the maximum output was found on the 70 μm thick nanofiber mat. These results suggest that uniform PVDF nanofibers with smaller diameters and high β crystal phase content facilitate mechanical-to-electric energy conversion. The understanding obtained from this study may benefit the development of novel piezoelectric nanofibrous materials and devices for various energy uses.
History
Journal
RSC AdvancesVolume
5Issue
19Pagination
14345 - 14350Publisher
Royal Society of ChemistryLocation
Cambridge, Eng.Publisher DOI
eISSN
2046-2069Language
engPublication classification
C Journal article; C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2015, The Royal Society of ChemistryUsage metrics
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