A Flexible Sandwich Nanogenerator for Harvesting Piezoelectric Potential from Single Crystalline Zinc Oxide Nanowires

Abstract

High-quality single crystalline zinc oxide nanowires were grown on silver and gold coated plastic substrates for the fabrication of a sandwich-like nanogenerator using the aqueous chemical growth method. The applicability of this configuration as a nanogenerator is demonstrated by studying the harvested electrical output under mechanical deformation. Three different configurations were fabricated and utilized for harvesting piezoelectric potential by applying an external force. The maximum resulting output open circuit voltage and short circuit current were 2.4 V and 152.2 mu A, respectively. The comparison between the different configurations indicates that more piezoelectric potential can be harvested by using two arrays of ZnO NWs placed face-to-face than by using a single nanowire configuration. In addition, the use of a piezoelectric polymer will enhance the amount of generated piezoelectric potential. The obtained results from different configurations of zinc oxide nanowire nanogenerators offer a cost-effective, flexible, long term stable nanogenerator for promising application. The principle of the sandwich nanogenerator demonstrated a new idea for novel self-powering nanotechnology that harvests electricity from the environment for applications such as portable electronics

Durable, efficient, and flexible piezoelectric nanogenerator from electrospun PANi/HNT/PVDF blend nanocomposite

“…Various piezoelectric energy generators have been developed such as zinc oxide (ZnO) , lead zirconate titanate (PZT) , barium titanate (BaTiO 3 ) , poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and zinc stannate based ones. Even though PZT‐based nanogenerators provide high piezoelectric output due to their high piezoelectric coefficient , those are toxic and hazardous to living beings.…”

Triboelectric–Pyroelectric–Piezoelectric Hybrid Cell for High‐Efficiency Energy‐Harvesting and Self‐Powered Sensing

“…By harvesting the majority of the mechanical energy during the sliding motion, the TENG with a size of 63.5 cm 2 has produced an area power density of 0.15 W m -2 at a sliding frequency of 4.41 Hz. [ 1,2 ] As one of the most commonly available energies in the environment, mechanical energy has been used for a long time by converting itself into electrical energy through generators, such as electromagnetic generators (EMG), piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENG), [3][4][5] and triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG). The hybrid cell has been demonstrated to extend the illumination time of a LED and charge a supercapacitor at a charging rate about twice of that charged by the TENG alone.…”

“…[11][12][13] As shown in Figure 1 b, the working principle of the TENG is based on the coupling of triboelectrifi cation and electrostatic induction. [ 1,2 ] As one of the most commonly available energies in the environment, mechanical energy has been used for a long time by converting itself into electrical energy through generators, such as electromagnetic generators (EMG), piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENG), [3][4][5] and triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG). [ 7 ] The net negative charges on the PTFE are immobile and tend to preserve for a long period of time considering the insulating nature of the electret polymer material.…”

A study of hydrothermally grown ZnO nanorod-based metal-semiconductor-metal UV detectors on glass substrates

“…4 Remarkably, ZnO possesses a wide bandgap of approximately 3.37 eV and a large exciton binding energy of 60 meV. [5][6][7] In particular, the high optical gain of ZnO has attracted attention for use in sensing and optoelectronics applications. 8 ZnO can be grown as different kinds of one-dimensional (1-D) nanostructures, such as nanocombs, 9 nanorods (NRs), 10 nanobelts, 11 nanoflowers, sensors because of their low cost, thermal/chemical stabilities, radiation hardness, and high transparency in the visible range.…”