Evaluation of piezoelectric behavior and biocompatibility of poly(vinylidene fluoride) ultrafine fibers with incorporated talc nanosheets

Herein, we fabricated biocompatible ultrafine fibers based on talc nanosheets (TNS)/PVDF composites that can exhibit robust electromechanical responses. Piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) was extensively used to decode various characteristics, including ferroelectric and piezoelectric coefficients. The 0.5 wt% TNS dispersed ultrafine fibers exhibited well-defined ferroelectric characteristics with an enhanced piezoelectric coefficient (d₃₃) of ≈43.3 pm/V compared to 10 pm/V measured for the pristine PVDF ultrafine fibers. It was observed that the piezoelectric coefficient values strongly depended on the morphology and electroactive phase fraction of the ensuing composite ultrafine fiber. The advantage of a high aspect ratio and surface charges offered by TNS alongside electrospinning augmented the composite ultrafine fiber's piezoelectric response. Further, in-vitro cytotoxicity of the TNS/PVDF composite ultrafine fibers was examined using BALB/3T3 fibroblasts based on ISO Standard 10993-5. Importantly, the new composite fibers showed no cytotoxic response and the exposed fibroblasts showed excellent viability. Thus, these fabricated TNS/PVDF piezoelectric ultrafine fibers are well suited for applications in bioelectronics, especially as flexible wearable electronic devices, including sensors.