Piezoelectric nanogenerators (NGs) consist of zinc oxide nanorods (ZNRs), and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) layers were fabricated on indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated substrate for the energy harvesting system. The formation of seed layers by an optimized aqueous solution method greatly helped the growth of well-aligned ZNRs for NGs. Polyethylenimine (PEI) was added to increase the aspect ratio of ZNRs, which reached up to 24:1, showing the best energy harvesting performance of NGs. The formation of PDMS layers on the ZNRs increased the work function difference for the top Ag electrode. The thickness of PDMS layers was optimized as 80 μm, which showed the maximum work function difference, resulting in the enhancement of charge density. Piezoelectric NGs made of ZNRs of the highest aspect ratio of 24:1 with an 80-μm-thick PDMS layer achieved the highest current density of 2270.1 nA/cm2, which could be sufficient to drive low-power electronics.
Keywords: ZnO seed layer; energy harvesting; nanogenerator; piezoelectric; zinc oxide nanorod.