Piezoelectric Nanogenerator Based on Electrospinning PVDF/Cellulose Acetate Composite Membranes for Energy Harvesting

Abstract

The organic piezoelectric polymer polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) has attracted extensive research because of its excellent flexibility and mechanical energy-harvesting properties. Here, the electrospinning technique was taken to fabricate synthesized fiber membranes of a PVDF/cellulose acetate (CA) composite. The obtained PVDF/CA electrospun fiber membranes (EFMs) were employed to prepare a flexible nanogenerator. XRD and FTIR spectroscopy revealed the enhancement of piezoelectric behavior due to an increase in β-phase in PVDF/CA EFMs compared with cast films. The PVDF/CA fibers (mass ratio of PVDF to CA = 9:1) showed an output voltage of 7.5 V and a short-circuit current of 2.1 μA under mechanical stress of 2 N and frequency of 1 Hz, which were 2.5 and two times greater than those of the pure PVDF fibers, respectively. By charging a 4.7 µF capacitor for 15 min with the voltage generated by the PVDF/CA EFMs, nine LED lamps could be lit. The work provides an effective approach to enhancing the piezoelectric effects of PVDF for low-power electronic loading of macromolecule polymers.