Mesoporous Piezoelectric Polymer Composite Films with Tunable Mechanical Modulus for Harvesting Energy from Liquid Pressure Fluctuation.

ABSTRACT: Harvesting mechanical energy from biological systems possesses great potential for in vivo powering implantable electronic devices. In this paper, a development of flexible piezoelectric nanogenerator (NG) is reported based on mesoporous poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) films. Monolithic mesoporous PVDF is fabricated by a template-free sol-gel-based approach at room temperature. By filling the pores of PVDF network with poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) elastomer, the composite's modulus is effectively tuned over a wide range down to the same level of biological systems. A close match of the modulus between NG and the surrounding biological component is critical to achieve practical integration. Upon deformation, the composite NG exhibits appreciable piezoelectric output that is comparable to

SUBMITTER: Zhang Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5462116 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature