Review of Piezoelectric Properties and Power Output of PVDF and Copolymer-Based Piezoelectric Nanogenerators

The highest energy conversion efficiencies are typically shown by lead-containing piezoelectric materials, but the harmful environmental impacts of lead and its toxicity limit future use. At the bulk scale, lead-based piezoelectric materials have significantly higher piezoelectric properties when compared to lead-free piezoelectric materials. However, at the nanoscale, the piezoelectric properties of lead-free piezoelectric material can be significantly larger than the bulk scale. The piezoelectric properties of Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) (PVDF-TrFE) lead-free piezoelectric nanomaterials are reviewed and their suitability for use in piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENGs) is determined. The impact of different PVDF/PVDF-TrFE composite structures on power output is explained. Strategies to improve the power output are given. Overall, this review finds that PVDF/PVDF-TrFE can have significantly increased piezoelectric properties at the nanoscale. However, these values are still lower than lead-free ceramics at the nanoscale. If the sole goal in developing a lead-free PENG is to maximize output power, lead-free ceramics at the nanoscale should be considered. However, lead-free ceramics are brittle, and thus encapsulation of lead-free ceramics in PVDF is a way to increase the flexibility of these PENGs. PVDF/PVDF-TrFE offers the advantage of being nontoxic and biocompatible, which is useful for many applications.