All-polymer piezo-ionic-electric electronics

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Electronics
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• All-organic piezoelectric systems face challenges with low electromechanical performance due to disordered interfaces.
• Improving interfacial properties is crucial for advancing flexible electronics in sensing and energy harvesting.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop highly-performant all-polymer piezo-ionic-electric electronics.
• To investigate the synergistic coupling of piezoelectric and piezoionic effects at regularized interfaces.
• To enhance force-electric coupling for improved energy harvesting and sensing capabilities.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a polyvinylidene difluoride/Nafion/polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF/Nafion/PVDF) sandwich structure.
• Engineering regularized ion-electron interfaces to promote interfacial charge accumulation.
• Characterization of piezoelectric coefficients, pressure sensitivity, and power generation.

Main Results:

• Achieved a high piezoelectric coefficient (d33) of ~80.70 pC N⁻¹.
• Demonstrated a pressure sensitivity of 51.50 mV kPa⁻¹.
• Obtained a maximum peak power density of 34.66 mW m⁻².

Conclusions:

• The developed piezo-ionic-electric electronics exhibit a unique working mechanism based on coupled piezoelectric and piezoionic effects.
• Massive interfacial ion and electron charge accumulation leads to remarkable force-electric coupling enhancement.
• This work presents a paradigm for highly-optimized all-polymer piezoelectric generators for flexible applications.