PVDF/MWCNT nanocomposites with complex configurations prepared by solution blow spinning and their flexoelectric responses

Abstract

A study of flexoelectric behavior of polyvinylfluoride, PVDF-based materials, was carried out considering the design in macroscopic terms. The materials are prepared using solution blow spinning (SBS) manufacturing multilayers of PVDF filled with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) with good control of concentration. Flexoelectric behavior of the materials is studied with a testing machine of our own design to obtain output voltage signals under cyclic mechanical perturbation as a function of perturbation rate. Mechanical behavior of the materials is described as a function of their porosity and MWCNT concentration. It is demonstrated that flexoelectricity does not only depend on the strain gradient but also on the time of mechanical response of the materials or their viscoelastic properties. This work offers a new insight on the study of flexoelectric behavior of polymer composite materials and how designing PVDF-based materials with high flexoelectric yields and, therefore, with high potentiality to be used as easy-to-handle sensors.