Experimental study of piezoelectric polymeric film as energy harvester

Abstract Polymeric materials are studied looking for macro sources of power used on vehicles or as a part of asphalt, like polyvinylidene-fluoride (PVDF). Blends of PVDF with a cheap polymer such as poly(methyl-methacrylate) (PMMA) were investigated. Thus, PVDF/PMMA films were developed by varying the concentration of PVDF from 0 to 100 wt%. The goal was to identify a low-cost, high-performance blend for energy harvesting. The β-phase was detected in the blends, which is responsible for the effect of piezoelectricity. Blends with 70 and 85 wt% of PVDF showed higher contents of β -phase compared to pure PVDF, and ± poled films were developed to be tested for piezoelectric response, by applying a normal stress in a range of 0.18 to 1.41 MPa. The induced electric field was measured using an electrical resistance of 30 MΩ. The 70 wt% PVDF/PMMA polymeric blend showed a linear response as a function of normal stress.