Piezoelectric polymers have many applications,from vibration dampening to electricity
generation. Traditionally people deposit metal electrodes on the polymers to take advantage of the piezoelectric
effect. Yet metal electrodes are rigid and hinder their response. In our lab we have improved methods of
applying electrodes to the piezoelectric polymer Poly(vinylidene fluoride), CH
2CF
2,
also called PVDF. Recent improvements in
conductive polymers, specifically PEDOT/PSS,
has enabled us to use it as electrode material. The polymer electrodes provide much better response for things made out
of PVDF such as
bimorphs and actuators One problem encountered is that metals are much more
conductive than the PEDOT/PSS. We are conducting
theoretical work to see what effect this has
on things created of PVDF. We are also trying to accurately predict the response of PVDF bimorphs using methods such as
finite element analysis.
