Fabrication of piezoelectric poly( l -lactic acid)/BaTiO 3 fibre by the melt-spinning process

Poly( l -lactic acid) (PLLA) based piezoelectric polymers are gradually becoming the substitute for the conventional piezoelectric ceramic and polymeric materials due to their low cost and biodegradable, non-toxic, piezoelectric and non-pyroelectric nature. To improve the piezoelectric properties of melt-spun poly( l -lactic acid) (PLLA)/BaTiO 3 , we optimized the post-processing conditions to increase the proportion of the β crystalline phase. The α → β phase transition behaviour was determined by two-dimensional wide-angle x-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry. The piezoelectric properties of PLLA/BaTiO 3 fibres were characterised in their yarn and textile form through a tapping method. From these results, we confirmed that the crystalline phase transition of PLLA/BaTiO 3 fibres was significantly enhanced under the optimised post-processing conditions at a draw ratio of 3 and temperature of 120 °C during the melt-spinning process. The results indicated that PLLA/BaTiO 3 fibres could be a one of the material for organic-based piezoelectric sensors for application in textile-based wearable piezoelectric devices.