The influence of hydrogen bonding on the dielectric constant and the piezoelectric energy harvesting performance of hydrated metal salt mediated PVDF films

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) films are filled with various mass fractions (wt%) of hydrated metal salt (MgCl2·6H2O) (Mg-salt) to fabricate high performance piezoelectric energy harvesters (PEHs). They deliver up to 4 V of open circuit voltage by simply repeated human finger imparting (under a pressure of ∼4.45 kPa) and also generate sufficient power to turn on at least ten commercial blue light emitting diodes (LEDs) instantly. The enhanced piezo-response is attributed to the combined effect of the change in the inherent dipole moment of the electroactive phase containing PVDF itself and H-bonding arising between the Mg-salt filler and PVDF via electrostatic interactions. Furthermore, it also successfully charged the capacitors, signifying practical applicability as a piezoelectric based energy harvester power source. UV-visible optical absorption spectral analysis revealed the possibility to estimate a change in the optical band gap value at different concentrations of Mg-salt filler added PVDF films that possess a useful methodology where the Mg-salt can be used as an optical probe. In addition dielectric properties have been studied to understand the role of molecular kinetic and interfacial polarization occurs in H-bond PVDF films at different applied frequencies at room temperature.