Ferroelectric polarization of β-polyvinylidene fluoride as control and mitigator of infectious organisms

Abstract

In this work, Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), a ferroelectric polymer thin film, was prepared by the solution casting method. The growth of polymer films was optimized to achieve the ferroelectric β–phase with PVDF and, most importantly, ferroelectric domains with dominant planar polarization components. The ferroelectric polarization of these polymers is known to hold surface charges with/without field. The polymer is expected to interact with microbial organisms whose physiological metabolism depends on surface charges. The current COVID-19 pandemic has motivated us to carry out a fundamental study of the interaction between the polarization of the ferroelectric polymers and microbes. The antimicrobial studies were performed, making these polymer films interact with bacterial, viral, and fungal growth environments. Electroded PVDF films were kept in contact with bacterial colonies, and a dc-voltage of 1.5 V was applied across the electrodes. The film was subjected to 1.5 V and kept in contact with the culture before the growth initiation, and the microbial growth was hindered entirely. It never occurred either beneath or over the surface of the films. Thus, in the presence of the electric field, the microbial growth was inhibited, even in a conducive environment.