The Polymer Society of Korea

Abstract

In contemporary research, PVDF-based polymers have emerged as promising materials for electroactive application in sensors, ultrasound detectors and nanogenerators due to their ferro-, piezo-, and pyroelectric performances. Especially, research on energy harvesting devices utilizing their piezoelectric behavior has been particularly active. The piezoelectric coefficient (d33) of PVDF-based polymers reaches up to -30 pC/N, depending on the specific composition and conformation. In our study, to enhance the piezoelectric performance, PVDF-based polymers were newly synthesized by emulsion polymerization and multi-functionalization. Furthermore, composite films were fabricated by incorporating modified metal oxide nanoparticles into the polymer matrix, which led to a pronounced improvement in the piezoelectric response. Through this experiment, the resulting nanocomposites demonstrate significant promise for energy harvesting applications, particularly in flexible nanogenerator devices.