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Electrospun Polyvinylidene Fluoride Nanofiber Membrane-Based Flexible Capacitive Tactile Sensors for Biomedical Applications

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Abstract

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) is a high-performance polymer with excellent ferroelectric, piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties. The electrospun PVDF has gained much attention in the design of tactile sensors based on piezoelectricity. This study aims to develop piezocapacitive sensors for measuring static pressure, which cannot be done by piezoelectric sensors. Electrospun PVDF nanofiber membranes with relatively uniform morphology were prepared using an electrospinning technique. The surface morphology of the electrospun PVDF nanofibers was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, and their microstructure was characterized by the Fourier transform infrared and Raman spectroscopies. Infrared vibrational spectroscopy data revealed a ferroelectric polar β-phase in the as-fabricated and untreated membranes. It was demonstrated that the electrospinning technique can induce crystalline and polar β-phase by applying an electric field to the PVDF polymer solution during solution jet stretching. The piezocapacitive membranes with full-face copper electrodes were fabricated and then sandwiched between Kapton polyimide films to form a sensing device. The results indicated a linear piezocapacitive-force behavior. Thus, PVDF electrospun membranes can be used to create highly flexible pressure sensors. Several potential biomedical applications of these PVDF nanofiber based membranes in the form of flexible capacitive pressure sensors are discussed.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors thank Dr. M.D. Aggarwal for his support and encouragement. Special thanks to Prof. Ch. Bowen who kindly critically reviewed the manuscript. Thanks go to Mr. E. Curtis for the fabrication of mechanical fixtures used in the present work. The authors acknowledge the Central Analytical Facility at the University of Alabama for SEM facilities. The authors duly acknowledge Mr. R. Paul for his technical assistance with scanning electron microscopy.

Funding

This work was supported in part by the Alabama EPSCoR grant and Title III program under Historically Black Graduate Institutions (HBGI) programs at Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University, USA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Materials Science Group, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, Alabama A&M University, AL 35762, Normal, USA

    Sharvare Palwai & Ashok Batra

  2. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Alabama, AL 35487, Tuscaloosa, USA

    Sushma Kotru

  3. International Clean Water Institute, VA 20112, Manassas, USA

    Ashok Vaseashta

  4. Biomedical Engineering and Nanotechnologies Institute, Riga Technical University, LV-1658, Riga, Latvia

    Ashok Vaseashta

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  1. Sharvare Palwai
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  2. Ashok Batra
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Correspondence to Ashok Vaseashta.

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Sharvare Palwai, Batra, A., Kotru, S. et al. Electrospun Polyvinylidene Fluoride Nanofiber Membrane-Based Flexible Capacitive Tactile Sensors for Biomedical Applications. Surf. Engin. Appl.Electrochem. 58, 194–201 (2022). https://doi.org/10.3103/S1068375522020089

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