A flexible piezoelectric force sensor based on PVDF fabrics

Abstract

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film has been widely investigated as a sensor and transducer material due to its high piezo-, pyro-and ferroelectric properties. To activate these properties, PVDF films require a mechanical treatment, stretching or poling. In this paper, we report on a force sensor based on PVDF fabrics with excellent flexibility and breathability, to be used as a specific human-related sensor. PVDF nanofibrous fabrics were prepared by using an electrospinning unit and characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), FTIR spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction. Preliminary force sensors have been fabricated and demonstrated excellent sensitivity and response to external mechanical forces. This implies that promising applications can be made for sensing garment pressure, blood pressure, heartbeat rate, respiration rate and accidental impact on the human body.

Multifunctional sensor based on organic field-effect transistor and ferroelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride trifluoroethylene)

“…Again, the solid black curves represent the fits obtained from Eqs. (2) and (5). The agreement between the measured and calculated values presented in Table 1 and Fig.…”

“…For pressure/force/strain detection they exploit the piezoresistive effect [2][3][4], the piezoelectric effect [5][6][7][8] or capacitive changes [9,10], whereas for temperature sensing capacitive [11] and pyroelectric-based sensors [12] can be found.…”

Flexible Pressure Sensors Based on Screen-Printed P(VDF-TrFE) and P(VDF-TrFE)/MWCNTs

“…[2,20,21]. The piezoelectric materials are unique as they allow us to measure dynamic touch or contact events and also enable multiple uses as sensors, actuators and energy harvesters [13,[22][23][24]. The piezoelectric materials used in these applications range from ceramics such as PZT and polymers such as Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and its copolymers.…”

“…The solution based piezoelectric and piezoresistive tactile sensors are preferred as they can be printed on large areas and bendable substrates, which is needed for conformal covering of 3D surfaces such as a robot's body [12][13][14][15]. Further, printing of sensors is a low-cost approach.…”

Functional Nanofibers with Multiscale Structure by Electrospinning

“…For example, in biomedical applications, by using biocompatible materials, electrospun fibrous scaffold have been considered as suitable substrates for tissue engineering [13][14][15][16] and artificial blood vessels [18], and also used to study the differentiation of stem cell [24]. While in the field of electromechanics, various sensors, such as tactile sensors [8,9], chemical sensors [3,5,6,10,11,17,19] and optical sensors [12], are using electrospun fibers as substrates or sensing elements.In this review, we provide an overview of electrospinning technologies, which have been developed to prepare nanofibers of different materials, ranging from inorganic ceramics to organic polymers, and systematically summarize the techniques to adjust the system parameters and thus tailor the properties of the fibers, including the fiber diameter and its surface morphology. We also highlight the advance of electrospinning techniques in creating complex structures with desired properties, such as well-aligned fiber arrays and specifically patterned fiber structure on the collector.…”