2025 AIChE Annual Meeting

Electrospun Polyacrylonitrile Fibrous Mats Embedded with Barium Titanate As Flexible Piezoelectric Voltage Generators and Sensors

Electrospinning is a versatile technique for producing nanofiber mats by subjecting a polymer solution to a high-voltage electric field, resulting in fiber deposition on a grounded cylindrical spinning collection surface1. These fiber mats, with varied structures and compositions, have found widespread application in bioengineering and materials science, including drug delivery, tissue engineering, biosensors, and energy devices2. Often, sensor technology harnesses the piezoelectric properties of the fibers to transduce mechanical signals into electrical outputs3.

In this study, barium titanate (BaTiO₃), a ceramic material with piezoelectric behavior4, was electrospun with polyacrylonitrile (PAN) to create a fiber mat. Electrospinning was used to fabricate these fiber mats because the material’s fiber structure can be easily adjusted by changing parameters such as the needle gauge, syringe to grounded surface distance, surface rotation speed, volumetric flow rate and voltage5. Additionally, the solvent properties can be adjusted by altering the concentrations of PAN and BaTiO₃, which will further alter the material’s fiber structure. The process of electrospinning produces flexible, thin mats with a high surface area to volume ratio which allows for versatile applications as a piezoelectric sensor1,5. The resulting fiber mats were visually evaluated for their layered thickness and fiber continuity, ensuring structural stability for testing purposes. The piezoelectricity of the fiber mats was tested by placing layers of copper tape between the mat and measuring changes in voltage in response to a set mechanical stress.

The ability to fabricate electrospun BaTiO₃–PAN fiber mats with piezoelectric functionality is a first step in creating a low-cost platform for next-generation biosensor devices.

Bibliography:

1. Ahmadi Bonakdar, Mahboubeh, and Denis Rodrigue. “Electrospinning: Processes, Structures, and Materials.” Macromol, vol. 4, no. 1, 1 Mar. 2024, pp. 58–103, www.mdpi.com/2673-6209/4/1/4#B70-macromol-04-00004, https://doi.org/10.3390/macromol4010004

2. Reddy, Vundrala Sumedha, et al. “A Review on Electrospun Nanofibers Based Advanced Applications: From Health Care to Energy Devices.” Polymers, vol. 13, no. 21, 29 Oct. 2021, p. 3746, https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13213746. Accessed 22 Dec. 2021.

3. Mangi, Mohammad Ali, et al. “Applications of Piezoelectric-Based Sensors, Actuators, and Energy Harvesters.” Sensors and Actuators Reports, 9 Feb. 2025, p. 100302, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666053925000219, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.snr.2025.100302.

4. Acosta, M., et al. “BaTiO3-Based Piezoelectrics: Fundamentals, Current Status, and Perspectives.” Applied Physics Reviews, vol. 4, no. 4, Dec. 2017, p. 041305, https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4990046.

5. Fu, Yijun, et al. “Electrospun PAN/BaTiO3/MXene Nanofibrous Membrane with Significantly Improved Piezoelectric Property for Self-Powered Wearable Sensor.” Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 489, 20 Apr. 2024, p. 151495, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1385894724029826#s0085, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2024.151495.