Flexible Interconnected Cu‐Ni Nanoalloys Decorated Carbon Nanotube‐Poly(vinylidene fluoride) Piezoelectric Nanogenerator

Abstract

Herein, high‐performance flexible and stable Cu‐Ni nanoalloy decorated carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforced poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) based piezoelectric nanogenerator is presented for the first time with very high current and power density. The formation of crystalline β‐phase is confirmed using FT‐IR and Raman spectra analysis. HR‐TEM study reveals the formation of Cu‐Ni nanoalloys with well‐defined interconnected structure with CNT. The Cu‐Ni nanoalloy decorated CNT‐PVDF nanogenerator device exhibits a high output voltage of 12 V and high current density of 0.3 µA cm−2 compared to pristine PVDF nanogenerator (4 V and 10 nA cm−2). Very high power density of 204 µW cm−3 is obtained from the nanocomposite nanogenerator. Piezoelectric force microscopy study reveals very high piezoelectric charge coefficient (d33) of about 160 pm V−1 from Cu‐Ni decorated CNT‐PVDF. Very stable output performance with almost no degradation till 1500 cycles is observed from the Cu‐Ni nanoalloy CNT‐PVDF nanogenerator. Such high stability is due to its dramatic improved high tensile strength of 60 MPa. Very high dielectric constant of 500 is observed from Cu‐Ni decorated CNT‐PVDF as compared to pristine PVDF (ε’ ≈ 20). The dramatic increase in output performance even under without electrical poling is discussed in light of self‐dipole alignment, in‐situ poling, high d33, interfacial polarization, and enhanced dielectric properties.

Electrospun Poly(vinylidene fluoride)-Based Nanogenerator Modified by Rutile/Anatase-Heterostructured TiO2 Nanorods for Piezoelectricity

“…The reason can be attributed to the increase in the number of dipoles of the PVDF matrix and the interface polarization enhanced by the addition of TiO 2 NRs. 54 As shown in Figure S7b, all nanofiber films exhibited low dielectric loss values in the measured frequency range, which is beneficial to improve the breakdown strength of the composite nanofiber membrane. Figure S7c illustrates the AC conductivity as a function of frequency, and the results show that ARTP has a larger value.…”

Multilayered Electrospun/Electrosprayed Polyvinylidene Fluoride+Zinc Oxide Nanofiber Mats with Enhanced Piezoelectricity

“…Besides, the performance of PVDF nanofibers can be further enhanced by adding nanofillers. [7,15,22] For instance, in the cowpea structure proposed by Deng et al, [23] the ZnO nanospheres were well wrapped in PVDF nanofibers, and results showed that with 5% ZnO, the 𝛽-phase content, as well as the output voltage, increased (by more than 5 times) compared to the pristine PVDF nanofibers. Moreover, carbon-based materials are commonly used to increase the piezoelectricity of PVDFbased nanofibers.…”

Design and Characterization of a PDMS/BCT/Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Nanocomposite as a Piezoelectric Energy Harvester

“…10,11 Piezoelectric nanogenerators have gained significant attention in recent years as a viable method of converting mechanical energy to electrical energy. 12 It is also possible to combine the piezoelectric nanogenerator with capacitors or batteries for the conversion and storage of mechanical energy through chemical reactions simultaneously. When piezoelectric materials are subjected to sufficient force, an external electric field is created, which causes a stirring of the positive and negative charge centers.…”