Piezoelectric actuation of direct-write electrospun fibers

Piezoelectric actuation of doubly clamped, electrospun poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) fibers fabricated by a direct-write process has been demonstrated. Near-field electrospinning (NFES) has been utilized to fabricate PVDF fibers with good piezoelectric properties by means of the in situ electrical poling and mechanical stretching process. Experimentally, PVDF fibers have responded to both piezoelectric and electrostatic effects and a double-electrode approach has been used to minimize the electrostatic effect. An average piezoelectric coefficient d33 of −57.6 pm/V has been characterized from fabricated fibers and this value is about twice larger than the value reported in PVDF thin-films. Various complex patterns of PVDF fibers have been deposited using NFES, enabling possible array formats for fiber-based actuators with possible applications including artificial muscles and switches.