Sensing Performance of Ionic Polymer Metal Nanocomposite Sensors with Pressure and Metal Electrolytes for Energy Harvesting Applications

Abstract

Flexible ionic polymer metal composite sensors are desired for detecting pulse rate of the human body and underwater energy harvesting application as compared to the brittle inorganic piezoelectric material. The present research reports the sensing performance of ionic polymer metal nanocomposite (IPMNC) using Platinum (Pt) coated polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) (PVDF)/polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP)/polystyrene sulfonic acid (PSSA) ionic membrane. The Pt electrode was attached on PVDF/PVP/PSSA ionic membrane using electroless deposition method. The simple solvent casting method was used to fabricate the PVDF/PVP/PSSA ionic membrane. The PVDF/PVP/PSSA based IPMNC generated a sensing voltage of 0.65 V with an application of 0.6 N force. Our IPMNC sensor produces sensing signals with different metal electrolytes and produced highest sensing signal of 0.56 V with immersing the IPMNC sample in 1.5 N NaCl. The data was obtained using data acquisition system (DAS) consists of IPMNC sample on PCB that was connected amplifier, analog to digital convertor, and an Arduino Uno board. The DAS was connected to computer for obtaining data. Our proposed IPMNC sensor can be applicable to the pressure sensor and wearable technology for generation of energy. Our IPMNC can also be useful for detecting metal ions in water and generation of electricity from water medium.