Improving piezoelectric properties of PVDF fibers by compositing with BaTiO3-Ag particles prepared by sol-gel method and photochemical reaction

In this study PVDF-BaTiO3 and PVDF-BaTiO3-Ag composite fibers were prepared by the electrospinning technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy results showed that an increase in the amount of BaTiO3 up to 0.8 wt% increases the amount of the beta phase similar to 90%. BaTiO3 particles prepared by sol-gel method were irradiated by ultraviolet light in silver nitrate solution for 2, 6, and 10 min to precipitate silver on BaTiO3 particles. Electrospun PVDF-BaTiO3-Ag fibers showed an increase in the output voltage (1.78(12) mV) compared to pristine PVDF and PVDF-BaTiO3 composite fibers (1.48(26) mV) upon applying 1.2 N force at 5 Hz frequency. According to XRD and FTIR spectroscopy, the amount of the beta phase in each sample increased by increasing the silver content. Such enhancement in the piezoelectric output voltage of PVDF-BaTiO3-Ag fibers is attributed to the increase in the amount of beta phase as well as the existence of silver as a conductive phase. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The study demonstrates that an increase in the BaTiO3 content leads to higher piezoelectric output voltage in PVDF-BaTiO3-Ag composite fibers, primarily attributed to an increase in the beta phase content and the presence of silver as a conductive phase.