Piezoelectric properties of PVDF nanofibers via non-uniform field electrospinning

Due to its strong piezoelectricity compared with other polymers, Poly (Vinylidene Fluoride) (PVDF) has been widely utilized in areas of energy, biology and sensor. Researches have shown that both orderly stretching and polarization treatment can strengthen the piezoelectric properties of PVDF. In this work, non-uniform field electrospinning is adopted to fabricate aligned PVDF fibers. The relationship between piezoelectric properties & morphology of PVDF fibers and PET´s thickness & electrospinning time was investigated. To determine the sensitivity of PVDF fibers, the effect of air pressure on piezoelectric properties was also tested. Results show that with increasing the PET´s thickness, the arrangement of PVDF fibers tends to be more orderly and the piezoelectric properties obviously increases. But the electrospinning time has almost no effect on the piezoelectric properties. Moreover, the average diameters of PVDF fibers are all about 440~475nm. Therefore, we can only adjust the main parameters to strengthen the piezoelectric property of PVDF fibers.