Flexible piezoelectric device directly assembled through the continuous electrospinning method

Abstract

Abstract Flexible piezoelectric devices could be widely used as important components in the future of electronic skin, foldable screens, robotics, and more. Herein, an integrated flexible piezoelectric device based on polyurethane/silver nanowire (PU/AgNW) electrodes and a piezoelectric polyurethane/polyvinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene [PU/P(VDF-TrFE)] layer was assembled directly through the continuous electrospinning method. The sheet resistance of the PU/AgNW electrode is 1.4 Ω sq−1 without tensile strain, and the integrated device exhibits high flexibility, high water-vapor permeability, and excellent work stability. Furthermore, both the PU/AgNW electrode and the piezoelectric device perform with excellent antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), attributed to the incorporation of the silver nanowires. The cross-section SEM image shows a uniform structure of the device, which implies a good connection between electrode layers and the piezoelectric layer. The open-circuit output voltage, short-circuit output current and power density of the device can reach up to 47.9 V, 31.8 μA, and 35.3 μw cm−2, respectively. This study presents a fabrication strategy for both flexible conductive electrodes and piezoelectric devices, and it shows a promising application for monitoring human-activity and harvesting energy from ambient environments.