@misc{MandalHenkelSchmeisser, author = {Mandal, Dipankar and Henkel, Karsten and Schmeißer, Dieter}, title = {Improved performance of a polymer nanogenerator based on silver nanoparticles doped electrospun P(VDF-HFP) nanofibers}, series = {Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics}, volume = {2014}, journal = {Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics}, number = {16}, issn = {1463-9084}, doi = {10.1039/C3CP55238A}, pages = {10403 -- 10407}, abstract = {We report on the electrospinning of poly(vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene) [P(VDF-HFP)] nanofibers doped with silver nanoparticles for the preparation of a polymer based nanogenerator (PNG). It has been found that the yield of the piezoelectric phase is increased by the addition of silver nanoparticles. Furthermore, defects in the P(VDF-HFP) electrospun fibers are removed resulting in a significant enhancement in the output power of the PNG. A maximum generated PNG output voltage of 3 V with a current density of 0.9 μA cm-2 is achieved.}, language = {en} } @misc{GarainSinhaAdhikaryetal., author = {Garain, Samiran and Sinha, Tridib Kumar and Adhikary, Prakriti and Henkel, Karsten and Sen, Shrabanee and Ram, Shanker and Sinha, Chittaranjan and Schmeißer, Dieter and Mandal, Dipankar}, title = {Self-Poled Transparent and Flexible UV Light-Emitting Cerium Complex-PVDF Composite: A High-Performance Nanogenerator}, series = {ACS Applied Materials \& Interfaces}, volume = {2015}, journal = {ACS Applied Materials \& Interfaces}, number = {7}, issn = {1944-8244}, doi = {10.1021/am507522r}, pages = {1298 -- 1307}, abstract = {Cerium(III)-,N-dimethylformamide-bisulfate [Ce(DMF)(HSO4)3] complex is doped into poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) to induce a higher yield (99\%) of the electroactive phases (β- and γ-phases) of PVDF. A remarkable enhancement of the output voltage (∼32 V) of a nano-generator (NG) based on a nonelectrically poled cerium(III) complex containing PVDF composite film is achieved by simple repeated human finger imparting, whereas neat PVDF does not show this kind of behavior. This high electrical output resembles the generation of self-poled electroactiveβ-phase in PVDF due to the electrostatic interactions between the fluoride of PVDF and the surface-active positive charge cloud of the cerium complex via H-bonding and/or bipolar interaction among the opposite poles of cerium complex and PVDF, respectively. The capacitor charging capability of the flexible NG promises its applicability as piezoelectric-based energy harvester. The cerium(III) complex doped PVDF composite film exhibit an intense photoluminescence in the UV region, which might be due to a participation of electron cloud from negative pole of bipolarized PVDF. This fact may open a new area for prospective development of high-performance energy-saving flexible solid-state UV light emitters.}, language = {en} } @misc{TamangGhoshGarainetal., author = {Tamang, Abiral and Ghosh, Sujoy Kumar and Garain, Samiran and Alam, Md. Mehebub and Haeberle, J{\"o}rg and Henkel, Karsten and Schmeißer, Dieter and Mandal, Dipankar}, title = {DNA-Assisted β‑phase Nucleation and Alignment of Molecular Dipoles in PVDF Film: A Realization of Self-Poled Bioinspired Flexible Polymer Nanogenerator for Portable Electronic Devices}, series = {ACS Applied Materials \& Interfaces}, journal = {ACS Applied Materials \& Interfaces}, number = {7}, issn = {1944-8244}, doi = {10.1021/acsami.5b04161}, pages = {16143 -- 16147}, abstract = {A flexible nanogenerator (NG) is fabricated with a poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)film, where deoxyribonu-cleic acid (DNA) is the agent for the electroactive β-phase nucleation. Denatured DNA is co-operating to align the molecular-CH2/-CF2 dipoles of PVDF causing piezo- electricity without electrical poling. The NG is capable of harvesting energy from a variety of easily accessible mechanical stress such as human touch, machine vibration, football juggling, and walking. The NG exhibits high piezoelectric energy conversion efficiency facilitating the instant turn-on of several green or blue light-emitting diodes. The generated energy can be used to charge capacitors providing a wide scope for the design of self-powered portable devices.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{MandalHenkelSchmeisser, author = {Mandal, Dipankar and Henkel, Karsten and Schmeißer, Dieter}, title = {A polymer nanogenerator based on silver nanoparticles doped electrospun P(VDF-HFP) nanofibers}, series = {Verhandlungen der Deutschen Physikalischen Gesellschaft}, booktitle = {Verhandlungen der Deutschen Physikalischen Gesellschaft}, publisher = {Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft}, address = {Bad Honnef}, issn = {0420-0195}, pages = {S. 208}, abstract = {The rising energy demand within the increasing mobility of human society has driven the development of new alternative power sources for portable devices with ultra-low electric power consumption. Based on its piezoelectric properties poly-vinylidene fluoride (PVDF) is a good candidate for mechanical energy harvesting for such devices. Moreover the copolymer poly(vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene) [P(VDF-HFP)] offers better film flexibility and cost-effectiveness than pure PVDF. We report on a polymer nanogenerator (PNG) based on electrospun P(VDF-HFP) nanofibers doped with silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs). The electrospun fibers were characterized by FTIR, XPS, SEM and pressure imparting probe. It has been found that the yield of the piezoelectric phase is increased by the addition of Ag-NPs due to an interaction between surface charges of Ag-NPs and the molecular dipoles. Furthermore, defects in the P(VDF-HFP) electrospun fibers are removed. Accordingly, a significant enhancement in the output power of the PNG was found. Similar trends were also observed with Pd-NPs.}, language = {en} } @misc{GhoshBiswasSenetal., author = {Ghosh, Sujoy Kumar and Biswas, Anirban and Sen, Shrabanee and Das, Chittaranjan and Henkel, Karsten and Schmeißer, Dieter and Mandal, Dipankar}, title = {Yb3+ Assisted Self-Polarized PVDF Based Ferroelectretic Nanogenerator: A Facile Strategy of Highly Efficient Mechanical Energy Harvester Fabrication}, series = {Nano Energy}, volume = {2016}, journal = {Nano Energy}, number = {30}, issn = {2211-2855}, doi = {10.1016/j.nanoen.2016.10.042}, pages = {621 -- 629}, abstract = {Ytterbium (Yb3+) assisted porous poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) composite film comprising flexible ferroelectretic nanogenerator (FTNG) is highlighted where traditional poling treatment is completely avoided. The piezoelectric output of FTNG is realized by the co-operative activity of self-polarized -CH2/-CF2 dipoles with porous electret-like structure in the composite film. Owing to extraordinary ferroelectric and dielectric properties, FTNG is acting as a highly efficient mechanical energy harvester. It is capable to capture several forms of abundant mechanical energy arising from humanfinger movements, machine vibrations and sound waves. As a proof of concept, under compressive deformation, FTNG is enable to instantly powers up several consumer electronics and thus provides a promising strategy for achieving self-powered electronic devices.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{GarainAdhikaryMandaletal., author = {Garain, Samiran and Adhikary, Prakriti and Mandal, Dipankar and Sen, Shrabanee and Henkel, Karsten and Schmeißer, Dieter}, title = {Electro-active β-Phase Formation in Poly(vinylidene fluoride) Films by Hydrated Rare earth Metal Salt}, series = {Proceeding of the International Conference on Nanotechnology 2013 (ICNT 2013)}, booktitle = {Proceeding of the International Conference on Nanotechnology 2013 (ICNT 2013)}, publisher = {Institute of Technology, Haldia, WB, India}, address = {Haldia}, isbn = {978-81-927756-0-9}, pages = {S. 127}, abstract = {Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) is a typical fluoro-polymer with complicated polymorphisms due to the semi-crystalline nature. Generally, four crystalline phases, α, β, γ and δ may exist in PVDF crystals. The nonpolar α- and δ-phase has a monoclinic lattice with trans-gauche conformation (TGTG⁄), which is thermodynamically most stable for PVDF. The polar β phase with all-trans (TTTT) planar zigzag conformation is attractive for its piezo-, pyro-, and ferroelectric properties. The polar β-Phase and also semi-polar γ-phase (TTTGTTTG⁄) have obtained wide device applications such as acoustic transducers, piezoelectric sensors, energy harvesting generators, pyroelectric sensors, non-volatile memories and energy storage capacitors. In this work, we explore the possibility to nucleate β-phase in PVDF hydrated salt composite films by addition of the hydrated Rare earth metal salt, (NH4)4 Ce (SO4)4, 2H2O) for the piezo- ferro and high dielectric based device applications. It has been found that the water molecules in (NH4)4 Ce (SO4)4, 2H2O could form hydrogen bonds with PVDF during the crystallization process and the hydrogen bonds promoted the electro-active crystalline β- phase in PVDF with all -trans conformations. In addition, the DMF (solvent used for films preparation) can also assist the rare-earth based nanoparticle preparation, as a result the electrostatic interaction of the surface charge of the nanoparticles and molecular dipoles in PVDF can resist the electroactive β- phase in PVDF.}, language = {en} } @misc{BiswasHenkelSchmeisseretal., author = {Biswas, Anirban and Henkel, Karsten and Schmeißer, Dieter and Mandal, Dipankar}, title = {Comparison of the thermal stability of the α, β and γ phases in poly(vinylidene fluoride) based on in situ thermal Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy}, series = {Phase Transitions}, volume = {90}, journal = {Phase Transitions}, number = {12}, issn = {0141-1594}, doi = {10.1080/01411594.2017.1337902}, pages = {1205 -- 1213}, abstract = {The electroactive β phase of poly(vinylidenefluoride) (PVDF) is induced due to the aging time of PVDF solutions. The feasibility of the combination of the three crystalline polymorphs (α, β and γ) is demonstrated where their relative proportion within the PVDF film can be tailored by the simple monitoring of the preparation conditions. To identify all these phases, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy is carried out and it is spotlighted that the vibrational bands at 510 and 841 cm-1 are not sufficient to state the formation of the β phase. The main aim of this work is devoted to develop a better understanding on the thermal stability of these several phases of PVDF, which has a longstanding ambiguity persisting in this area. It has been found that the in situ thermal FT-IR spectroscopy is one of the best alternatives to understand this important issue. It is ascertained that the β phase is the least thermally stable phase among α, β and γ phases, whereas the γ phase is the most thermally stable phase.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{GarainHenkelMandaletal., author = {Garain, Samiran and Henkel, Karsten and Mandal, Dipankar and Schmeißer, Dieter}, title = {One-Pot Synthesis of Copper Oxide Nanowires and PVDF/CuO Composite Films for Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting Application}, series = {Verhandlungen der Deutschen Physikalischen Gesellschaft, Reihe 6, Band 53,3}, booktitle = {Verhandlungen der Deutschen Physikalischen Gesellschaft, Reihe 6, Band 53,3}, publisher = {Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft}, address = {Bad Honnef}, issn = {0420-0195}, pages = {S. 135}, abstract = {Copper oxide (CuO) is an attractive p-type oxide semiconductor with narrow band gap that has intriguing properties such as non-toxicity, chemical stability, electrocatalytic activity, abundant availability and low production cost. Polymeric materials have attracted great interest owing to their high flexibility, light weight, low cost production and high resistance against corrosion. Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) is a commonly used piezoelectric polymer due to its excellent flexibility and piezoelectric properties. In this work, we adopted a one-pot synthesis of CuO nanowires by facile and selective chemical etching process of Cu substrate. XPS, XRD, SEM data ascribed the formation of polycrystalline CuO nanowires over the entire Cu surface. It has been observed that the uniformity, shape and size of the nanowires could be conveniently controlled by etching time and etchant concentration. We have also prepared piezoelectric nanogenerator based on the flexible PVDF/CuO composite film, where the traditional electrical poling treatment was avoided. In addition, dielectric properties have been studied to demonstrate the role of interfacial polarization.}, language = {en} } @misc{GarainSenHenkeletal., author = {Garain, Samiran and Sen, Shrabanee and Henkel, Karsten and Schmeißer, Dieter and Mandal, Dipankar}, title = {Enhancement of Electroactive β-phase and Superior Dielectric Properties in Cerium Based Poly(vinylidene fluoride) Composite Films}, series = {Materials Today: proceedings}, volume = {5}, journal = {Materials Today: proceedings}, number = {3 part 3}, issn = {2214-7853}, doi = {10.1016/j.matpr.2017.11.003}, pages = {10084 -- 10090}, abstract = {In this work we report on the preparation of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) films with various mass fractions (wt\%) of hydrated rare earth metal salt [(NH4)4Ce(SO4)4.2H2O] (CAS) and its electroactive phase (β- and γ-phase) formation. It was found that CAS can yield high amount of electroactive phases in PVDF. Compared to the neat PVDF film, a significantly increment of dielectric constant (ε ∼ 41) and a low loss factor (tan δ ∼ 0.8) were observed in the PVDF-CAS composite films. Thus the PVDF-CAS composite films with high electroactive phase and superior dielectric properties may meet the requirements of next generation electronic components.}, language = {en} } @misc{MaityGarainHenkeletal., author = {Maity, Kuntal and Garain, Samiran and Henkel, Karsten and Schmeißer, Dieter and Mandal, Dipankar}, title = {Natural Sugar-Assisted, Chemically Reinforced, Highly Durable Piezoorganic Nanogenerator with Superior Power Density for Self-Powered Wearable Electronics}, series = {ACS Applied Materials \& Interfaces}, volume = {10}, journal = {ACS Applied Materials \& Interfaces}, issn = {1944-8244}, doi = {10.1021/acsami.8b15320}, pages = {44018 -- 44032}, abstract = {Natural piezoelectric materials are of increasing interest, particularly for applications in biocompatible, implantable, and flexible electronic devices. In this paper, we introduce a cost-effective, easily available natural piezoelectric material, that is, sugar in the field of wearable piezoelectric nanogenerators (PNGs) where low electrical output, biocompatibility, and performance durability are still critical issues. We report on a high-performance piezoorganic nanogenerator (PONG) based on the hybridization of sugar-encapsulated polyvinylidenefluoride (PVDF) nanofiber webs (SGNFW). We explore the crucial role of single-crystal sugar having a fascinating structure along with the synergistic enhancement of piezoelectricity during nanoconfinement of sugar-interfaced macromolecular PVDF chains. As a consequence, the SGNFW-based PONG exhibits outstanding electricity generation capability (e.g.,∼100 V under 10 kPa human finger impact and maximum power density of 33 mW/m2) in combination with sensitivity to abundantly available different mechanical sources (such as wind flow, vibration, personal electronics, and acoustic vibration). Consequently, it opens up suitability in multifunctional self-powered wearable sensor designs for realistic implementation. In addition, commercially available capacitors are charged up effectively by the PONG because of its rapid energy storage capability. The high performance of the PONG not only offers"battery-free"energy generation (several portable units of light-emitting diodes and a liquid crystal display screen are powered up without using external storage) but also promises its use in wireless signal transmitting systems, which widens the potential in personal health care monitoring. Furthermore, owing to the geometrical stress confinement effect, the PONG is proven to be a highly durable power-generating device validated by stability test over 10 weeks. Therefore, the organic nanogenerator would be a convenient solution for portable personal electronic devices that are expected to operate in a self-powered manner.}, language = {en} } @misc{BiswasGarainMaityetal., author = {Biswas, Anirban and Garain, Samiran and Maity, Kuntal and Henkel, Karsten and Schmeißer, Dieter and Mandal, Dipankar}, title = {Influence of In situ Synthesized Bismuth Oxide Nanostructures in Self-poled PVDF-based Nanogenerator for Mechanical Energy Harvesting Application}, series = {Polymer Composites}, volume = {40}, journal = {Polymer Composites}, number = {S1}, issn = {0272-8397}, doi = {10.1002/pc.24628}, pages = {E265 -- E274}, abstract = {A self-poled piezoelectric nanogenerator (NG) based on bismuth oxide (Bi2O3) nanostructures (BNS)-doped poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) is demonstrated. The in-situ formation of BNS incorporated in the PVDF matrix is realized through a simple solution casting technique that favors the nucleation and stabilization of 99.6\% of the electroactive phase in PVDF (i.e., beta/gamma-phases). The enhancement of the output voltage (3.6 V) and current (2.4mA) of the NG based on a nonelectrically poled BNS containing PVDF composite film is achieved and demonstrated by simple repeated human finger imparting. The improvement of the output performance is influenced by the generation of the electroactive polar beta-phase in PVDF, due to the electrostatic interactions between the -CH2-/-CF2- dipoles of PVDF and the surface charge of the BNS. The NGs are able to charge up capacitors demonstrating that the power generation from such a hybrid device structure can be utilized for powering various portable devices.}, language = {en} } @misc{MaityGarainHenkeletal., author = {Maity, Kuntal and Garain, Samiran and Henkel, Karsten and Schmeißer, Dieter and Mandal, Dipankar}, title = {Self-Powered Human-Health Monitoring through Aligned PVDFNanofibers Interfaced Skin-Interactive Piezoelectric Sensor}, series = {ACS Applied Polymer Materials}, volume = {2}, journal = {ACS Applied Polymer Materials}, number = {2}, issn = {2637-6105}, doi = {10.1021/acsapm.9b00846}, pages = {862 -- 878}, abstract = {Flexible and wearable e-skin sensors are attracting a great interest for their smart sensing applications in next-generation electronics. However, implant ability, sensitivity, and biosignal detection capability in a self-powered manner are the prime concerns in embedded devices. In particular, electrode compatibility and imperishability have become challenging issues in wearable sensors due to the poor compatibility and fragileness of metal electrodes. In this context, we report on a skin-interactive metal-free spongy electrode in a piezoelectric sensor where highly aligned poly(vinylidenefluoride) (PVDF) nanofibers (NFs) arrays are introduced as the piezoelectric active component and conducting polyaniline- (PANI-) coated PVDF (PANI-PVDF) NFs mats served as flexible electrodes. Notably, a 99\% yield of piezoelectric phases of the aligned PVDF arrays is the key factor to exhibit promising mechano-sensitivity (0.8 V/kPa) performance that in turn helps in human-health monitoring. The sensor shows excellent mechanical to electrical energy conversion that enable to sense human finger touch (10 V under 10 kPa) with energy conversion efficiency of 53\%. Most importantly, due to the compatible electrodes excellent mechanical stability has been found showing negligible degradation over 12,000 periodic cycles. Furthermore, under mechanical stimuli, it is also possible to charge up a capacitor (1μF) to 4 V within 60 s confirming the possibility to use the device as a self-powered piezo-organic-e-skin sensor (POESS). This type of structural design enables to trace elusive movement of muscles and the operation in several conditions such as bending, compression and stretching. We demonstrated various human gestures monitoring, such as wrist bending, neck stretching, and arm compressions, throat movements during drinking water, coughing actions, and swallowing. In addition, diverse specific phonation recognition, heart-pulse measurement and its respective short-time Fourier transform (STFT) analysis indicate an efficient and convenient way of monitoring human-health status particularly in hospital-free mode.}, language = {en} }