Voltage response of piezoelectric woven fabric, made of tourmaline containing polypropylene filaments

Abstract

In this work, three different weight ratios (1%, 3% and 5%) of tourmaline (TM) were added to polypropylene (PP) polymer using a twin screw compounder. Pristine PP and TM powder added PP master batches were used to produce PP/TM filaments via a melt-spinning process with a polarization unit affixed in the drawing zone. Piezoelectric filaments were then used to produce piezoelectric woven fabrics on a handloom. Aluminium sheets were attached on both sides of piezoelectric woven fabric samples as electrodes. Mechanical characteristics, DSC thermograms, FTIR absorbance spectra and SEM micrographs of piezoelectric woven fabric samples were obtained. To investigate the effect of TM ratio on the voltage response of piezoelectric woven fabric samples, an impact rig was used which allowed the weights to drop freely onto the samples. Voltage outputs of the samples were recorded via a digital oscilloscope. According to the results collected from the digital oscilloscope, addition of TM contributed to the voltage output of the samples. Recorded peak voltage generated by the woven fabric sample made of pristine PP (PPP-0TM) was 1.20 V while the piezoelectric woven fabric sample containing 5% TM (PPP-5TM) showed a peak voltage of 3.92 V.