Micro-structured PDMS piezoelectric enhancement through charging conditions

Micro-structured cellular polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) materials were prepared by a low-cost molding process allowing us to control geometry and sample size. Cellular structures are charged with a triangular quasi-static voltage with amplitudes between 1 kV and 4 kV and a frequency of 0.5 Hz fixed after having evaluated the conditions enhancing the piezoelectric response of the cellular PDMS. The piezo-electret PDMS material charged at room temperature has a piezoelectric coefficient d33 of 350 pC/N, which is ten times larger than that of polyvinylidene fluoride. The high piezoelectric coefficient with a very low elastic modulus of 300 kPa makes these materials very useful for wearable device applications. The piezoelectric coefficient d33 of the samples poled at high temperatures improves thermal stability but reduces PDMS piezo-electret piezoelectricity, which is explained by the structure's stiffness. These results are useful and allow us to set the conditions for the preparation of the piezo-electret materials according to desired applications.