Electromechanical Coupling of PZT Nanofibers

This paper presented the results of electromechanical characterization of PZT nanofibers through applied mechanical strain and forced vibration. PZT nanofibers were fabricated by electrospinning process. Titanium film with ZrO2 layer was used to collect the nanofibers and also used as the substrates of the test coupons for the bending tests. Mechanical strain was applied to the test coupons through three-point-bending using Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer (DMA). The largest output voltage was 170mV under 0.5% applied strain. Silicon substrate with trenches was also used to collect the PZT nanofibers for the forced vibration tests. The output voltage from 150Hz sinusoid vibration source was also measured. The peaks of the output voltage were 64.9mV and −95.9mV, respectively. These tests have demonstrated the piezoelectric response of PZT nanofibers. Further tests are to be conducted to precisely determine the piezoelectric constants of PZT nanofibers.