Bending piezoelectricity in a microbially produced poly-β-hydroxybutyrate

Issue title: 25th Anniversary Volume. Perspectives in Biorheology II. Festschrift for Syoten Oka

Guest editors: Eiichi Fukada and Takehiko Azuma

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Fukada, Eiichi^a | Ando, Yutaka^b

Affiliations: [a] The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, Saitama 351-01, Japan | [b] Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo 184, Japan

Abstract: An optically active polymer, poly-β-hydroxybutyrate(PHB), is produced in cytoplasm of various bacteria. The bending piezoelectric effect was observed in oriented films of PHB. The coefficient between the electrical polarization and the stress gradient was found to be in the order of 10−18 Cm/N, which was similar to the value reported for bone. Anisotropy in the value of the coefficient was also observed.

Keywords: Bending piezoelectricity, Poly-β-hydroxybutyrate

DOI: 10.3233/BIR-1988-251-239

Journal: Biorheology, vol. 25, no. 1-2, pp. 297-302, 1988