All-fiber acousto-electric energy harvester from magnesium salt-modulated PVDF nanofiber

Abstract

In this work, an all-fiber acoustoelectric nanogenerator (AAPNG) is fabricated by the hydrated metal salt (MgCl2 center dot 6H(2)O) (Mg-salt) reinforced polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF-Mg) nanofibers as an active layer and interlocked conducting micro-fiber-based electrode for converting mechanical and acoustic energies into useful electrical power. It has been found that the electroactive phase content (similar to 84%) is enhanced in PVDF-Mg nanofibers due to the inter-molecular H-bonding moieties, the arrangement of the macromolecular chains of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) in a layer-by-layer fashion, and the existence of an interfacial interaction between the Mg-salt and dimethylformamide (DMF) resonance structure and -CF2 dipoles of PVDF. As a result, PVDF-Mg nanofibers possess superior piezoelectric charge coefficient (d(33) approximate to 33.6 pC N-1) and figure of merit (FoM approximate to 12.7 x 10(-12) Pa-1) with respect to neat PVDF nanofibers (d(33) approximate to 22 pC N-1 and FoM approximate to 9.7 x 10(-12) Pa-1). Benefitting from the ultrafast response time of similar to 6 ms, AAPNG serves as an acoustoelectric sensor detecting low-frequency sound with an acoustic sensitivity (S-a) of 10 V Pa-1, which is superior to that of neat PVDF nanofibers (S-a similar to 266 mV Pa-1). With the overall acoustoelectric energy conversion efficiency of similar to 1.3%, AAPNG powers a range of commercial electronic gadgets, such as LEDs, capacitors, and LCDs. This makes it perfectly suitable for noise detection purposes as well as self-powered microphone applications. Additionally, AAPNGs can be realized as human motion monitoring systems, such as finger motion sensors that pave the way of futuristic robotic-based applications.