Characterization of β-PVDF-based nanogenerators along with Fe2O3 NPs for piezoelectric energy harvesting

Abstract

β-phase polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanogenerators along with various concentrations (0.2, 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8 wt%) of iron oxide (Fe2O3) nanoparticles were produced using the electrospinning technique. The characterization of the free- and doped-nanogenerators was examined by X-ray powder diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and 57Fe Mossbauer spectroscopy, dielectric measurements, and piezoelectric effect analysis. All the analyses demonstrated that the structural transition in the specimens at doping ratios are above the critical concentration of 0.4% by wt. of Fe2O3 NPs in PVDF, superparamagnetic behavior of the iron oxide particles in the composite. Utilization of the β-PVDF along with Fe2O3 NPs (0.4 wt%) exhibited higher piezoelectric properties with respect to the free form and the other additive concentrations. Considering the piezoelectric properties of the nanogenerator, the output voltage of the β-PVDF in the presence of the 0.4 wt% of Fe2O3 NPs reaches up to 1.39 V by increasing the peak amplitude to almost 50% while the undoped β-PVDF nanogenerator reveals almost to 0.93 V at the same impact frequency (6–7 Hz).