Effect of Inorganic Fillers Reinforcement in Flexible Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) Films Acoustic Characteristics: An Experimental and Statistical Investigation

In recent decades, noise pollution has adversely affected human and animal life. Recently, the utilization of piezoelectric materials has been widely recognized in various fields of research and development. Apart from energy harvesting and piezoelectric applications, these piezoelectric materials are used for acoustic wave applications and for designing acoustic-related transducers, microphones, etc. Hence, in this research work, Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) incorporated with various weight percentages of Zirconium Oxide (ZrO₂), Titanium dioxide (TiO₂), and Zinc oxide (ZnO) hybrid thin films were fabricated via a solution casting technique adopted for acoustic applications. The microstructure, elemental composition, and crystallinity of prepared PVDF composite films were analyzed through field emission scanning microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. Further experimentally obtained sound absorption coefficient results of PVDF composite films were compared with statistical analysis of the design of Experiments (DOE) through central composite design (CCD) under response surface methodology (RSM). Based on the experimental and statistical results, it was identified that the optimal weight% of 0.3, 0.1, and 0.3wt.% of ZrO_2, TiO₂, and ZnO fillers with 10wt.% of PVDF has achieved the maximum sound absorption coefficient (SAC) value of 0.9 at a mid-frequency range of 750 Hz and noise reduction coefficient (NRC) value of 0.558. Therefore, we conclude that PVDF composite films are sustainable piezoelectric materials for acoustic applications for emerging low and mid-frequency ranges of 500–1000 Hz.