Shi Yongdong, Tian Yu, Guan Youjun, Kang Xinchang, Li Yuanxing, Ren Kunyu, Wen Chaoyao, Ning Chengyun, Zhou Lei, Fu Rumin, Tan Guoxin
School of Chemical Engineering and Light Industry, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, P. R. China.
School of Materials Science and Engineering & National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, P. R. China.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2023 Sep 13;15(36):43003-43015. doi: 10.1021/acsami.3c09065. Epub 2023 Aug 31.
All-polymer piezoelectric elastomers that integrate self-powered, soft, and elastic performance are attractive in the fields of flexible wearable electronics and human-machine interfaces. However, a lack of adhesion and UV-blocking performances greatly hinders the potential applications of elastomers in these emerging fields. Here, a high-performance piezoelectric elastomer with piezoelectricity, mechanical robustness, self-adhesion, and UV-resistance was developed by using poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF), acrylonitrile (AN), acrylamide (AAm), and oxidized tannic acid (OTA) (named PPO). In this design, the dipole-dipole interactions between the PVDF and PAN chains promoted the content of β-PVDF, endowing high piezoelectric coefficient (, 58 pC/N). Besides, high stretchability (∼500%), supercompressibility (∼98%), low Young's modulus (∼0.02 MPa), and remarkable elasticity (∼13.8% hysteresis ratio) were achieved simultaneously for the elastomers. Inspired by the mussel adhesion chemistry, the OTA containing abundant catechol and quinone groups provided high adhesion (93.26 kPa to wood) and an exceptional UV-blocking property (∼99.9%). In addition, the elastomers can produce a reliable electric signal output ( = 237 mV) and show a fast response (24 ms) when subjected to external force. Furthermore, the elastomer can be easily assembled as a wearable sensor for human physiological (body pulse and speech identification) monitoring and communication.