A novel polarization-free 3D printing strategy for fabrication of poly (Vinylidene fluoride) based nanocomposite piezoelectric energy harvester

Abstract

The preparation of piezoelectric materials could provide the new opportunities for capturing the attractive green energy. In this work, a novel polarization-free fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printing strategy was proposed for fabrication of a high piezoelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/tetraphenylphosphonium chloride (TPPC) nanocomposite energy harvester . It was experimentally found that after incorporating with TPPC nanoparticles , a high β-based polar phase concentration of approximately 83.8% could be achieved for the prepared PVDF/TPPC nanocomposites. In addition, combined with the FFF 3D printing technology, the complex porous structures of the energy harvester was realized, thus resulting in the desired excellent flexibility and piezoelectricity . Typically, for the smart 3D printed nanocomposite energy harvester with incorporation of only 5 wt% TPPC, the obtained open-circuit voltage could be up to 6.62 V, which is approximately 5 times higher than that of neat PVDF and could even successfully drive five commercial green LED lights to normally work. Encouragingly, this novel technique provides a new idea for design and fabrication of piezoelectric energy harvester, and opens up some new possibilities for the FFF 3D printed piezoelectric parts to be applied in various fields such as wireless sensor networks , health care, environmental monitoring and industries. The piezoelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/tetraphenylphosphonium chloride (TPPC) nanocomposite energy harvester with complex porous structures was successfully fabricated by FFF 3D printing, which exhibited an excellent piezoelectric performance with maximum output voltage of 6.62 V and could drive five green LEDs. • The piezoelectric PVDF/TPPC energy harvester was fabricated via a novel polarization-free FFF 3D printing strategy. • The effective combination of TPPC nanoparticles incorporation and FFF 3D printing could result in 83.8% β-based polar phase. • The FFF 3D printed complex porous structures could amplify the stress–strain effect and lead to the desired piezoelectricity. • Application of FFF 3D printed piezoelectric parts in the field of energy harvesting can be expected.