Development of Solvent‐Free PVDF Smart Foams for Sustainable Energy Harvesting Applications—A Route to Green Initiative

This research aims to develop sustainable and lightweight porous PVDF smart foams using the principles of green chemistry for vibration‐based energy harvesting applications. Here, porous structured PVDF nanocomposite foams were fabricated using the templating method with sodium chloride (NaCl) as the sacrificial template. To enhance the piezoelectric and crystalline characteristics, PVDF foams were incorporated with various combinations and wt.% of graphene (Gr), silver (Ag), and barium titanate (BaTiO 3 ) nanofillers. High‐resolution field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE‐SEM), energy dispersive X‐ray analysis (EDAX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), porosity, water contact angle, piezoelectric coefficient ( d 33), and vibration‐based energy‐harvesting performance were evaluated for the fabricated PVDF foam samples. Based on the experimental results, it is concluded that the PVDF foam incorporated with 0.1 g of Ag/0.1 g of BaTiO 3 /0.1 g of Gr exhibited a porosity 88.5%, a density of 0.197, a water contact angle of 148.5°, a piezoelectric coefficient ( d 33) value of 9 pC/N and output electrical potential of 935 mV compared to pristine and other PVDF nanocomposite samples. Hence, the fabricated porous PVDF nanocomposite foams can be used as a portable energy harvesting (PEH) device. The developed PEH device can serve as a reliable energy source for small electronic components, thereby promoting sustainable energy solutions.