High-performance stretchable PZT particles/Cu@Ag branch nanofibers composite piezoelectric nanogenerator for self-powered body motion monitoring

Abstract

The development of stretchable nanogenerators has attracted intensive attentions for their promising applications in wearable electronics recently. Here, a newly high-performance stretchable PZT particles/Cu@Ag branch nanofibers (BNFs) nanocomposite piezoelectric generator (NCPG) is reported. The uniform mixture of PZT particles and Cu@Ag BNFs is blended into silicone rubber matrix that exhibits remarkably piezoelectric, mechanical and electrical characteristics. Owing to the similar molding method and the identical elastic matrix, the piezoelectric layer and the electrode layers could be completely integrated into stretchable NCPG based on all-in-one structure, which reveals high output performances (V peak-peak ≈61 V, I peak-peak ≈1.1 μA, 22.36 μw cm −3 ). The generated electricity is utilized to directly light five green emitting diodes (LEDs) and to drive a digital thermometer after stored in capacitor under the mechanical tensile strain stimulation. Moreover, the stretchable NCPG could act as a selfpowered body motion sensor for distinguishing the bending angles and frequencies of the knee joint. This work provides a novel design idea for stretchable nanogenerators and shows great potential applications in artificial intelligence, medical diagnosis and movement entertainment.

Stretchable Filler/Solid Rubber Piezoresistive Thread Sensor for Gesture Recognition

“…Significantly, in the preparation of stretchable piezoresistive sensor, it is necessary to consider that the increase of the filling amount of AG@GMs will hinder the tensile property of the sensor. According to our previous manufacturing experience about fillers/SR composite [31,32], the mass ratio of AG@GMs and SR was selected as 3:1. Figure 1b shows the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image of the SPTS composed of AG@GMs (75 wt%) and SR. Obviously, Ag@GMs were evenly embedded into SR to form a compact three-dimensional network structure.…”

Energy Harvesting and Storage with Soft and Stretchable Materials

“…Incorporation of inorganic particles (fillers) with high piezoelectric coefficients into a soft polymer matrix is an approach to achieve flexible, stretchable, and mechanically durable PEHs. [119,120] Under mechanical deformation, the polymer matrix transfers the stress onto the piezoelectric particles, which generated a piezoelectric potential. [121] The composite PEHs are made using facile and scalable processes relative to the other deterministic approaches that require expensive and complex fabrication processes like etching, transfer, vacuum deposition, and lithography.…”

“…The device generates a power output of 22.36 W m −3 . [120] Increasing the concentration of piezoelectric material in a composite increases the output performance but also increases the stiffness of the composite. Thus, additional ways to enhance the power output were explored.…”

“…PEHs can serve as self-powered tactile sensors, [109,117,123,140,148] pressure sensors, [111,119,123,125,127,145] cardiac monitors, [109,110,118,140,146] and human motion sensors (vocal movement, walking, arm-bending). [103,[119][120][121][122]124,126,144] They can sense and harvest vibrations [118,146] and surface oscillations, [130] suggesting the potential use in applications such as energy scavenging platforms, biosensors, and acoustic actuators. [133] State-of-the-art implantable devices require additional surgical procedures to replace drained batteries.…”

Ferroelectric Materials Based Coupled Nanogenerators

“…The piezoelectric ceramic perovskites show high piezoelectric constants and electromechanical response because of polarization rotations. The ferroelectric, ceramic-based PENGs with active layers of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) [146,147], barium titanate (BTO) mboxciteB148-nanoenergyadv-1435434,B149-nanoenergyadv-1435434,B150-nanoenergyadv-1435434, lead magnesium niobate titanate (PMN-PT) [151][152][153][154], sodium bismuth titanate (NBT) [155][156][157][158][159], and sodium potassium niobate (KNN) [160,161] have been reported with high-output performances. Ferroelectric thin film PENGs have also been reported on flexible plastic substrates with metal electrodes and by transferring techniques [146,154].…”