An Ultrasonic Fabrication Method for Epoxy Resin/SbSI Nanowire Composites, and their Application in Nanosensors and Nanogenerators

Abstract

In this manuscript, a new fabrication technology for epoxy resin/antimony sulpho-iodide (SbSI) nanowire composites is presented. SbSI nanowires, with lateral dimensions of 10 nm to 100 nm and lengths up to several micrometres, have been synthesised using ultrasound irradiation. The prepared SbSI nanowires have been bound with epoxy resin in a mass ratio of 1:4, and then ultrasound irradiation has been used again for homogenization of the mixture. The fabricated epoxy resin/SbSI nanowire composites, due to the piezoelectric properties of SbSI (electromechanical coefficient k33 = 0.9, and piezoelectric coefficient dV = 0.9 × 10−9 C/N) may be used as an active layer in nanosensors and nanogenerators. The preliminary investigations of epoxy resin/SbSI nanowire composites for sound excitation (frequency f = 175 Hz; L = 90 dB), vibrations (f = 24 Hz; A = 1 mm; F = 0.73 N), and shock wave (p = 6 bar), allowed for the determination of the composite’s open circuit voltage: 0.0153 VRMS, 0.166 VRMS, and 4.51 Vp-p, respectively. Maximum power output densities of 0.45 nW/cm3 and 860 nW/cm3 have been achieved for excitation by sound and vibration, respectively, for a 0.6 mm thick layer of composite.

SbSI Composites Based on Epoxy Resin and Cellulose for Energy Harvesting and Sensors—The Influence of SBSI Nanowires Conglomeration on Piezoelectric Properties

“…Recently, there is a growing interest in nanogenerators and nanosensors which are fabricated based on SbSI nanowires [23,[26][27][28][29][30][31]. SbSI is a semiconductor and ferroelectric material exhibits very good electromechanical (k 33 = 0.9) [32] and piezoelectric (d 33 = 650 pC/N) properties [33].…”

Electromechanical Modeling of MEMS-Based Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting Devices for Applications in Domestic Washing Machines

“…where M sj (x) is the bending moment of the j-th section of each PEH device. The solution of Equations (10) and (11) must consider the boundary conditions of the two sections of each PEH device. Equations (12) and (13) show the boundary conditions for the first and second section of the PEH devices, respectively:…”

“…To solve Equations (10) and 11, the bending moment functions of the PEH devices are required. This function is determined through the load function, q(x), of the PEH devices, which is obtained using the Macaulay method:…”

“…The deflection, ysj, into each one of the devices' sections was obtained by substituting the bending moment functions, Ms1 and Ms2, into the Equations (10) and (11), respectively, and using the integration rules of the Macaulay's functions. Furthermore, the boundary conditions (Equations (12) and (13)) were applied to find these deflections: 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 4 4 2 3 4 0 0 1 2 3 2 3 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 3 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 6 24 24 24 2 6 2 3 8 1 2 6 2 3 8…”

“…Several researchers [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] have studied the piezoelectric effect of different materials to generate electrical energy. To take advantage of this piezoelectric effect, microelectromechanical system (MEMS)-based piezoelectric energy harvesting (PEH) devices could transform the mechanical vibrations of domestic washing machines into electrical energy.…”