Piezoelectric Effect Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF): From Energy Harvester to Smart Skin and Electronic Textiles

Abstract

AbstractWith the great demand for flexible self‐powered sensors and nanogenerators, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) is widely investigated for outstanding piezoelectric and dielectric constant. In the pursuit for increasing β content, electrospinning is exhibited to be an effective method without external high voltage pooling or mechanical stretching and thus is considered a cost‐effective and simple method, because the molecular dipoles in the PVDF can be aligned during the process of electrospinning with high voltage field and stretching. The methods for improving piezoelectric characteristics are briefly introduced in this review, electrospinning fibers including uniaxial fibers, highly aligned fibers, core–shell fibers and Janus fibers are revealed, and research on theoretical modeling is carried out for efficiency in the design of piezoelectric nanogenerator. Last, studies on prospective applications based on electrospun PVDF and its copolymer PVDF‐TrFE, from sensors to smart skin, from energy harvesters to electronic textiles, are being conducted.