Piezoelectric nanofibers are of great importance in their potential applications as smart fibers and textiles to bring changes to daily lives. By employing the technique of electrospinning, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanofibers modified with polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and single-wall carbon nanotubes (CNTs) (referred to as CNT/PMMA/PVDF) are prepared. The electric field induced displacement of the as-prepared nanofibers is characterized by piezoresponse force microscopy. Compared with the pure PVDF nanofibers, the CNT/PMMA/PVDF nanofibers exhibit a great enhancement of about 196% for the electric field induced displacement, while increments of about 104% and 78% are obtained for the PMMA/PVDF and CNT/PVDF nanofibers, respectively. A structural analysis indicates that the hydrogen bonding between the O atom in the carbonyl group of PMMA and the hydrogen atom in the CH2 groups of PVDF, the promotion of the nucleation of crystallites by CNTs, work synergistically to produce the high electroactive response of the CNT/PMMA/PVDF nanofibers. Based on the high-performance nanofibers, a prototype of a flexible nanofiber generator is fabricated, which exhibits a typical electrical output of 3.11 V upon a repeated impact-release loading at a frequency of 50 Hz.
Multiple phase coexistence contributes to the extraordinary piezoelectric behavior of (1‐x)Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–xPbTiO3 (PMN–xPT) near the morphotropic phase boundaries (MPBs). By incorporating an optical path of crossed polarized light (PLM) into the commercialized Piezoelectric Force Microscope (PFM) (named as PLM‐PFM system), in situ domain structure observation from micro‐ to nanoscale, as well as measurement of the piezoelectric behavior for individual domains can be realized. For [001]‐oriented single crystal of 67Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3‐33PbTiO3 (PMN‐33PT), fine domain boundary structures of rhombohedral (R), tetragonal (T), and monoclinic (M) phases are revealed. Measurements of the electric field‐induced displacement as a function of the applied DC electric field (VDC) are performed for domains with different polarization vectors. Values for the electric field‐induced displacement are in descending order for c‐domains of the M, R, and T phases. For an individual phase of T or M, the displacement increases when the angle between the polarization vector and the applied electric field decreases. The multi‐scale perspective of the domain structures and the corresponding piezoelectric response helps in understanding the ultra‐high piezoelectric performance for PMN‐PT single crystals near MPB.
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