Performance Enhancement of Flexible Piezoelectric Nanogenerator via Doping and Rational 3D Structure Design For Self‐Powered Mechanosensational System

Abstract

With the rapid development of the Internet of things (IoT), flexible piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENG) have attracted extensive attention for harvesting environmental mechanical energy to power electronics and nanosystems. Herein, porous piezoelectric fillers with samarium/titanium-doped BiFeO 3 (BFO) are prepared by a freeze-drying method, and then silicone rubber is filled into the microvoids of the piezoelectric ceramics, forming a unique structure based on silicone rubber matrix with uniformly distributed piezoelectric ceramic. When subjected to external force stimulation, compared with conventional piezocomposite films found on undoped BFO without a porous structure, the PENG possesses higher stress transfer ability and thus boosts output performance. The notable enhancement in the stress transfer ability and piezoelectric potential is proven by COMSOL simulations. The PENG can exhibit a maximum open-circuit voltage (V oc ) of 16 V and shortcircuit current (I sc ) of 2.8 µA, which is 5.3 and 5.6 times higher than those of conventional piezocomposite films, respectively. The PENG can be used as a triggering signal to control the operation of fire extinguishers and household appliances. This work not only expands the application scope of lead-free piezoelectric ceramic for energy harvesting, but also provides a novel solution for self-powered mechanosensation and shows great potential application in IoT.

Recent progress on flexible nanogenerators toward self‐powered systems

“…[14][15][16][17] In the past several years, integration of functional materials into a flexible platform has become a hot research topic. [18][19][20][21] Owning to the advances in materials science and mechanics, construction of piezoelectric materials in flexible and stretchable formats provides the foundations for numerous applications in wearable and implantable systems. [22][23][24][25] The piezoelectric coefficient (d 33 ), ratio of open circuit charge density to applied stress (in unit of CN −1 ), is typically used to quantify the performance of piezoelectric materials.…”

“…Recently, soft, and skin‐integrated electronics, sometime also known as “epidermal electronics” have been of great interest due to their flexibility, stretchability, and lightweight . In the past several years, integration of functional materials into a flexible platform has become a hot research topic . Owning to the advances in materials science and mechanics, construction of piezoelectric materials in flexible and stretchable formats provides the foundations for numerous applications in wearable and implantable systems .…”

Piezoelectric sensor based on graphene-doped PVDF nanofibers for sign language translation

“…Nowadays, pressure and bending angle sensors are mainly based on signals caused by a changing force [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. Plenty of measurement methods, using different materials and different principles, have been proposed in recent years [26].…”

“…As a self-powered sensing system, piezoelectric sensors show potential in wearable sensing applications [19,[36][37][38][39][40][41]. However, traditional piezoelectric sensor devices such as piezoelectric ceramics have disadvantages in detecting bending, and their detection stability and measurement range need to be improved [18,[42][43][44][45][46][47][48]. In the era of smart sensing, there is an increasing need for self-powered pressure and bending sensing systems [49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64].…”

A Triboelectric Nanogenerator Consisting of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) Pellet for Self‐Powered Detection of Mechanical Faults and Inclination in Dynamic Mechanics

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6] Thus, it is the first priority for scientists to find renewable and clean energy to replace the traditional energy sources that have been dropping at an alarming rate. [7][8][9][10][11][12][13] In 2006, Wang's group first proposed the concept of a self-powered sensor based on a nanogenerator, [14] which could effectively harvest various kinds of mechanical energy, providing a new way for scientists to ease the energy shortage. [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] However, most research focuses on collecting mechanical energy from wind or tide energy, [23] and there are few reports on triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) that aim to harvest the vibrational energy generated by mechanical facilities.…”