ORIGINAL PAPER Piezoelectric electrospun nanofibrous materials for self-powering wearable electronic textiles applications Ali Gheibi & Masoud Latifi & Ali Akbar Merati & Roohollah Bagherzadeh Received: 2 February 2014 /Accepted: 25 April 2014 # Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014 Abstract This research focuses on fabricating a one-step nano-generator based on electrospun nanofibrous materials for wearable electronics textiles applications. A nanofibrous structure from Poly (vinylidene fluoride), PVDF, was pro- duced using electrospinning technique. Performances of these structures were evaluated by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), Differential Scanning Cal- orimetry (DSC) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Piezoelectric properties of fabricated composites also were evaluated on a self-made system as a function of frequency. Results showed that not only electrospinning process can effectively improve piezoelectric properties of nanofiber mats by changing the crystalline structure (e.g. create the β-phase) compared to PVDF film samples, but also the fibrous structure of these materials interestingly can be used in the wearable electronic textiles. By using a novel approach to fabricate the nanofiber layer along with incorporating the electrodes within the structure of the device, the electrical output was improved as high as 1 volt. These results imply promising applications for various wearable self-powered electrical devices and systems. Keywords Nanofiber . Electrospinning . Piezoelectric . Electronic Textiles Introduction The recent progress in miniature electronic devices has raised concerns about their working stability [1–3]. Because of the large number, small dimensions and complicated application environments (e.g. inside a biological or human body, under- ground or in remote areas (, powering these devices with conventional batteries meets difficulties in replacement or on-site charging of the batteries [4, 5]. Self-powering of electronic devices by integrating a power generator that can scavenge and turn the surrounding local energy (e.g. mechan- ical, thermal or chemical) into electrical energy to drive the electronic devices sustainably without any other electrical input has emerged as a viable solution. Piezoelectric harvest- ing of mechanical energies using inorganic semi-conductive nanowires (from GaN, CdS,ZnO,ZnS, InN) [4, 6–10], has received great attention, These nanowire-based electrical gen- erators have shown the ability to convert mechanical energy from acoustic and ultrasonic vibrations, body movements into electrical energy [11, 12, 1]. Nevertheless, it could be a prom- ising alternative in order to self-powering miniature electronics. It has been shown through the literature that the inorganic nanowire-based electrical generators require precisely con- trolled fabricating conditions. They are brittle and have a very limited strain level. Despite the wide working frequency range, the devices have to work under very small forces to avoid damage to the nanowires inside and therefore these devices are typically low in power output. The brittle inorgan- ic nanowires are also difficult to integrate into flexible sub- strates such as textiles [1]. Piezoelectric polymer nanofibres, on the other hand, have much better flexibility and possess large sensitive areas. It is also demonstrated that fiber based generators have higher flexibility and lower weight compared to those made of thin films. They are mostly produced by electrospinning [13, 1, 14, 15]. Applied high voltage or high A. Gheibi : M. Latifi Textile Engineering Department, Textile Excellence & Research Centers, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran A. A. Merati : R. Bagherzadeh (*) Textile Engineering Department, ATMT Research Institute, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran e-mail: bagherzadeh_r@aut.ac.ir J Polym Res (2014) 21:469 DOI 10.1007/s10965-014-0469-5