Issue 38, 2018

Enhancing the tactile and near-infrared sensing capabilities of electrospun PVDF nanofibers with the use of gold nanocages

Abstract

Owing to its piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties, poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) has been extensively explored for applications related to tactile sensing, energy harvesting, and thermal imaging. However, PVDF cannot be directly used to detect light because of its weak absorption in the visible and near-infrared (NIR) regions, preventing effective conversion from light to heat and then electrical signal. In this work, we address this issue by incorporating Au nanocages (AuNCs) into PVDF nanofibers during electrospinning. The strong and tunable optical absorption associated with AuNCs makes them an effective transducer for converting light to heat and then electrical signal. The presence of AuNCs and the strong electric field inherent to electrospinning both promote the formation of the ferroelectric β phase for maximal piezoelectric and pyroelectric conversions. With the incorporation of AuNCs, the electrospun PVDF nanofibers show enhanced capabilities for tactile and NIR sensing. While the voltage output under the tactile force is increased by 12.6-fold relative to the case of pristine PVDF nanofibers, a voltage output of 7.2 V is achieved when the hybrid device is subjected to the on/off cycles of NIR irradiation by an 808 nm diode laser at a power density of 0.2 W cm−2.

Graphical abstract: Enhancing the tactile and near-infrared sensing capabilities of electrospun PVDF nanofibers with the use of gold nanocages

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
01 জুন 2018
Accepted
30 আগষ্ট 2018
First published
31 আগষ্ট 2018

J. Mater. Chem. C, 2018,6, 10263-10269

Enhancing the tactile and near-infrared sensing capabilities of electrospun PVDF nanofibers with the use of gold nanocages

H. Li, T. Wu, M. Xie, Y. Shi, S. Shen, M. Zhao, X. Yang, L. M. Figueroa-Cosme, Q. Ke and Y. Xia, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2018, 6, 10263 DOI: 10.1039/C8TC02671H

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements