High-Performance Piezoelectric Nanogenerators with Imprinted P(VDF-TrFE)/BaTiO3 Nanocomposite Micropillars for Self-Powered Flexible Sensors

Xiaoliang Chen; Xiangming Li; Jinyou Shao; Ningli An; Hongmiao Tian; Chao Wang; Tianyi Han; Li Wang; Bingheng Lu

doi:10.1002/smll.201604245

High-Performance Piezoelectric Nanogenerators with Imprinted P(VDF-TrFE)/BaTiO₃ Nanocomposite Micropillars for Self-Powered Flexible Sensors

Small. 2017 Jun;13(23). doi: 10.1002/smll.201604245. Epub 2017 Apr 28.

Authors

Xiaoliang Chen¹, Xiangming Li¹, Jinyou Shao¹, Ningli An², Hongmiao Tian¹, Chao Wang¹, Tianyi Han¹, Li Wang¹, Bingheng Lu¹

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong, University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710049, China.
² College of Printing and Packaging Engineering, Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710048, China.

PMID: 28452402
DOI: 10.1002/smll.201604245

Abstract

Piezoelectric nanogenerators with large output, high sensitivity, and good flexibility have attracted extensive interest in wearable electronics and personal healthcare. In this paper, the authors propose a high-performance flexible piezoelectric nanogenerator based on piezoelectrically enhanced nanocomposite micropillar array of polyvinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene (P(VDF-TrFE))/barium titanate (BaTiO₃ ) for energy harvesting and highly sensitive self-powered sensing. By a reliable and scalable nanoimprinting process, the piezoelectrically enhanced vertically aligned P(VDF-TrFE)/BaTiO₃ nanocomposite micropillar arrays are fabricated. The piezoelectric device exhibits enhanced voltage of 13.2 V and a current density of 0.33 µA cm^-2 , which an enhancement by a factor of 7.3 relatives to the pristine P(VDF-TrFE) bulk film. The mechanisms of high performance are mainly attributed to the enhanced piezoelectricity of the P(VDF-TrFE)/BaTiO₃ nanocomposite materials and the improved mechanical flexibility of the micropillar array. Under mechanical impact, stable electricity is stably generated from the nanogenerator and used to drive various electronic devices to work continuously, implying its significance in the field of consumer electronic devices. Furthermore, it can be applied as self-powered flexible sensor work in a noncontact mode for detecting air pressure and wearable sensors for detecting some human vital signs including different modes of breath and heartbeat pulse, which shows its potential applications in flexible electronics and medical sciences.

Keywords: P(VDF-TrFE)/BaTiO3; piezoelectric micropillar arrays; piezoelectric nanogenerators; polymer nanocomposites; self-powered sensing systems.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't