Enhancing the current density of a piezoelectric nanogenerator using a three-dimensional intercalation electrode

The low output current density of piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENGs) severely restricts their application for ambient mechanical energy harvest. This has been a key challenge in the development of PENG. Here, to conquer this, based on a piezoelectric material with high piezoelectric coefficient (Sm-PMN-PT), a new design of PENG with a three-dimensional intercalation electrode (IENG) is proposed. By creating many boundary interfaces inside the piezoelectric material, the total amount of surface polarization charges increased, which contributes to an increased current density. The IENG can output a maximum peak short-circuit current of 320 μA, and the corresponding current density 290 μA cm −2 is 1.93 and 1.61 times the record values of PENG and triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), respectively. It can also charge a 1 μF capacitor from 0 V to 8 V in 21 cycles, and the equivalent surface charge density 1690 μC m −2 is 1.35 times the record value of TENG. Increasing the output current density is the key challenge for nanogenerators. Here, a new piezoelectric nanogenerator with a three-dimensional intercalation electrode is developed to reach 290 μA cm −2 by creating and utilizing many boundary interfaces.

[1]  Long Gu,et al.  Packaged triboelectric nanogenerator with high endurability for severe environments. , 2015, Nanoscale.

[2]  Liwei Lin,et al.  Piezoelectric nanofibers for energy scavenging applications , 2012 .

[3]  Zhong Lin Wang,et al.  Achieving ultrahigh triboelectric charge density for efficient energy harvesting , 2017, Nature Communications.

[4]  Zhong Lin Wang,et al.  Growth of Horizonatal ZnO Nanowire Arrays on Any Substrate , 2008 .

[5]  Youfan Hu,et al.  Recent progress in piezoelectric nanogenerators as a sustainable power source in self-powered systems and active sensors , 2015 .

[6]  S. Fujihara,et al.  Grain size effect on electrical properties of Mn-modified 0.67BiFeO3-0.33BaTiO3 lead-free piezoelectric ceramics , 2016 .

[7]  Zhong Lin Wang,et al.  Functional electrical stimulation by nanogenerator with 58 V output voltage. , 2012, Nano letters.

[8]  Bin Xu,et al.  Giant piezoelectricity of Sm-doped Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3 single crystals , 2019, Science.

[9]  Zhong Lin Wang,et al.  Microfibre–nanowire hybrid structure for energy scavenging , 2008, Nature.

[10]  J. Ha,et al.  Controlled conductivity of p-type CuxO/GaN piezoelectric generator to harvest very high piezoelectric potential , 2017 .

[11]  Zhong Lin Wang,et al.  Self-powered nanowire devices. , 2010, Nature nanotechnology.

[12]  Xiaofeng Jia,et al.  A self-improving triboelectric nanogenerator with improved charge density and increased charge accumulation speed , 2018, Nature Communications.

[13]  Long Lin,et al.  Replacing a Battery by a Nanogenerator with 20 V Output , 2012, Advanced materials.

[14]  Z. Wang.  Self‐Powered Nanosensors and Nanosystems , 2012, Advanced materials.

[15]  Shiyou Xu,et al.  Fabrication and piezoelectric property of PMN-PT nanofibers , 2012 .

[16]  Joo-Yun Jung,et al.  Hemispherically aggregated BaTiO3 nanoparticle composite thin film for high-performance flexible piezoelectric nanogenerator. , 2014, ACS nano.

[17]  Zhuo Xu,et al.  Ultrahigh piezoelectricity in ferroelectric ceramics by design , 2018, Nature Materials.

[18]  Zhong Lin Wang,et al.  Integrated charge excitation triboelectric nanogenerator , 2019, Nature Communications.

[19]  Xi Chen,et al.  1.6 V nanogenerator for mechanical energy harvesting using PZT nanofibers. , 2010, Nano letters.

[20]  Bin Sun,et al.  Wireless piezoelectric devices based on electrospun PVDF/BaTiO3 NW nanocomposite fibers for human motion monitoring. , 2018, Nanoscale.

[21]  Jie Wang,et al.  Sustainably powering wearable electronics solely by biomechanical energy , 2016, Nature Communications.

[22]  Zhong Lin Wang,et al.  Piezoelectric Nanogenerators Based on Zinc Oxide Nanowire Arrays , 2006, Science.

[23]  Chang Kyu Jeong,et al.  Highly‐Efficient, Flexible Piezoelectric PZT Thin Film Nanogenerator on Plastic Substrates , 2014, Advanced materials.

[24]  Zhong Lin Wang,et al.  Power generation with laterally packaged piezoelectric fine wires. , 2009, Nature nanotechnology.

[25]  F. Hellman,et al.  Reconfigurable ferromagnetic liquid droplets , 2019, Science.

[26]  Zhong Lin Wang,et al.  Piezoelectric-nanowire-enabled power source for driving wireless microelectronics. , 2010, Nature communications.

[27]  Yaguang Wei,et al.  Integrated multilayer nanogenerator fabricated using paired nanotip-to-nanowire brushes. , 2008, Nano letters.

[28]  Xiaobing Ren,et al.  Large electric-field-induced strain in ferroelectric crystals by point-defect-mediated reversible domain switching , 2004, Nature materials.

[29]  Christopher R. Bowen,et al.  Optimisation of interdigitated electrodes for piezoelectric actuators and active fibre composites , 2006 .

[30]  Jie Wang,et al.  Standards and figure-of-merits for quantifying the performance of triboelectric nanogenerators , 2015, Nature Communications.

[31]  Zhong Lin Wang.  On Maxwell's displacement current for energy and sensors: the origin of nanogenerators , 2017 .

[32]  Fei Ma,et al.  Flexible fiber nanogenerator with 209 V output voltage directly powers a light-emitting diode. , 2013, Nano letters.

[33]  Long Jin,et al.  Polarization-free high-crystallization β-PVDF piezoelectric nanogenerator toward self-powered 3D acceleration sensor , 2018, Nano Energy.

[34]  Zhong Lin Wang,et al.  Ultrahigh charge density realized by charge pumping at ambient conditions for triboelectric nanogenerators , 2018, Nano Energy.

[35]  J. Ha,et al.  Facile growth of high aspect ratio c-axis GaN nanowires and their application as flexible p-n NiO/GaN piezoelectric nanogenerators , 2018, Acta Materialia.

[36]  Zhiyong Fan,et al.  Bionic Single-Electrode Electronic Skin Unit Based on Piezoelectric Nanogenerator. , 2018, ACS nano.