title: Enhanced piezoresponse of electrospun PVDF mats with a touch of nickel chloride hexahydrate salt.
abstract: PVDF nanofibers are prepared using electrospinning. The effect of addition of a hydrated salt, nickel chloride hexahydrate (NiCl(2)·6H(2)O), on the phase formation is examined. Addition of the hydrated salt (NC) is found to enhance the polar β phase by about 30%. The peak to peak piezo-voltage generated for PVDF NC is almost 0.762 V, a factor of 3 higher than that for PVDF. The fiber mats exhibit a significantly enhanced dynamic strain sensor response. The voltage generated per unit micro-strain developed during the free vibration test for PVDF was 0.119 mV whereas it was 0.548 mV for PVDF NC, exhibiting a non-linearly enhanced performance vis a vis the increase in the β phase component.
authors.affiliation: Polymer Science and Engineering Division, National Chemical Laboratory, Dr Homi Bhabha Road, Pune, India.
authors.forename: Dipti
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dhakras
authors.forename: Vivek
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Borkar
authors.forename: Satishchandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ogale
authors.forename: Jyoti
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jog