Enhancement of ZnO-based flexible nano generators via a sol-gel technique for sensing and energy harvesting applications

Piezoelectric Energy Harvester Technologies: Synthesis, Mechanisms, and Multifunctional Applications

Piezoelectric energy harvesters have gained significant attention in recent years due to their ability to convert ambient mechanical vibrations into electrical energy, which opens up new possibilities for environmental monitoring, asset tracking, portable technologies and powering remote "Internet of Things (IoT)" nodes and sensors. This review explores various aspects of piezoelectric energy harvesters, discussing the structural designs and fabrication techniques including inorganic-based energy harvesters (i.e., piezoelectric ceramics and ZnO nanostructures) and organic-based energy harvesters (i.e., polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) and its copolymers). The factors affecting the performance and several strategies to improve the efficiency of devices have been also explored. In addition, this review also demonstrated the progress in flexible energy harvesters with integration of flexibility and stretchability for next-generation wearable technologies used for body motion and health monitoring devices. The applications of the above devices to harvest various forms of mechanical energy are explored, as well as the discussion on perspectives and challenges in this field.

A Bibliometric Analysis of Low-Cost Piezoelectric Micro-Energy Harvesting Systems from Ambient Energy Sources: Current Trends, Issues and Suggestions

The scientific interest in piezoelectric micro-energy harvesting (PMEH) has been fast-growing, demonstrating that the field has made a major improvement in the long-term evolution of alternative energy sources. Although various research works have been performed and published over the years, only a few attempts have been made to examine the research's influence in this field. Therefore, this paper presents a bibliometric study into low-cost PMEH from ambient energy sources within the years 2010-2021, outlining current research trends, analytical assessment, novel insights, impacts, challenges and recommendations. The major goal of this paper is to provide a bibliometric evaluation that is based on the top-cited 100 articles employing the Scopus databases, information and refined keyword searches. This study analyses various key aspects, including PMEH emerging applications, authors' contributions, collaboration, research classification, keywords analysis, country's networks and state-of-the-art research areas. Moreover, several issues and concerns regarding PMEH are identified to determine the existing constraints and research gaps, such as technical, modeling, economics, power quality and environment. The paper also provides guidelines and suggestions for the development and enhancement of future PMEH towards improving energy efficiency, topologies, design, operational performance and capabilities. The in-depth information, critical discussion and analysis of this bibliometric study are expected to contribute to the advancement of the sustainable pathway for PMEH research.

Progress in the Applications of Smart Piezoelectric Materials for Medical Devices

Smart piezoelectric materials are of great interest due to their unique properties. Piezoelectric materials can transform mechanical energy into electricity and vice versa. There are mono and polycrystals (piezoceramics), polymers, and composites in the group of piezoelectric materials. Recent years show progress in the applications of piezoelectric materials in biomedical devices due to their biocompatibility and biodegradability. Medical devices such as actuators and sensors, energy harvesting devices, and active scaffolds for neural tissue engineering are continually explored. Sensors and actuators from piezoelectric materials can convert flow rate, pressure, etc., to generate energy or consume it. This paper consists of using smart materials to design medical devices and provide a greater understanding of the piezoelectric effect in the medical industry presently. A greater understanding of piezoelectricity is necessary regarding the future development and industry challenges.

Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting Solutions: A Review

The goal of this paper is to review current methods of energy harvesting, while focusing on piezoelectric energy harvesting. The piezoelectric energy harvesting technique is based on the materials' property of generating an electric field when a mechanical force is applied. This phenomenon is known as the direct piezoelectric effect. Piezoelectric transducers can be of different shapes and materials, making them suitable for a multitude of applications. To optimize the use of piezoelectric devices in applications, a model is needed to observe the behavior in the time and frequency domain. In addition to different aspects of piezoelectric modeling, this paper also presents several circuits used to maximize the energy harvested.

Development of Sn-doped ZnO based ecofriendly piezoelectric nanogenerator for energy harvesting application

In this work, we have a demonstrated zinc oxide (ZnO) polymer-based ecofriendly piezoelectric nanogenerator (PENG) on a paper substrate for an energy harvesting application. The ZnO thin film is developed on the paper substrate, where different doping concentrations of Sn have been investigated systematically to validate the effect of doping towards enhancing the device performance. The piezoelectric potential of the fabricated device is evaluated by applying three different loads (4 N, 8 N, 22 N), where the source of the corresponding mechanical loads is based on the object of a musical drum stick. The results suggest that the pristine ZnO PENG device can generate a maximum output voltage and current of 2.15 V and 17 nA respectively. Moreover, the ZnO PENG device doped with 2.5% Sn achieved an even higher voltage (4.15 V) and current (36 nA) compared to pristine ZnO devices. In addition, the hydrothermal growth technique used to develop Sn-doped ZnO has the benefits of high scalability and low cost. Hence, the Sn-doped PENG device is a suitable candidate for energy harvesting applications operating in both uniform and non-uniform loading conditions.

A La-doped ZnO ultra-flexible flutter-piezoelectric nanogenerator for energy harvesting and sensing applications: a novel renewable source of energy

Zinc oxide nanorods synthesized via a wet chemical approach were used to fabricate an ultra-flexible flutter-piezoelectric nanogenerator (UF-PENG). The UF-PENG has demonstrated good capabilities to act as not only an energy generator but also a wind velocity/direction sensor. Using the same procedure, the ZnO nanorods have been doped with lanthanum, and the doped device was found to exhibit three times the output of intrinsic PENG. Furthermore, through the process of annealing, the output of the PENG was enhanced. Peak power density calculations, capacitance charging, and stability analysis (1500 cycles) were performed. We have implemented this approach to make an ultralightweight/sensitive and wind modulated device which can flutter in low wind speed and can operate under a light breeze (2.8-3.8 m s^-1). The device was able to harvest a voltage of over 1.6 V at 3.8 m s^-1. The observed results indicate that the developed device could work as a self-powered wind velocity sensor. It can also function as a wind direction sensor (0-90°). Finite element simulation was performed to investigate the underlying mechanism. Additionally, the stability analysis of the sensor for more than 4500 cycles was conducted, and the obtained results showed the high stability of the device.

Piezoresistive Graphene/P(VDF-TrFE) Heterostructure Based Highly Sensitive and Flexible Pressure Sensor

We report on a novel graphene/P(VDF-TrFE) heterostructure based highly sensitive, flexible, and biocompatible pressure/strain sensor developed through a facile and low-cost fabrication technique. The high piezoelectric coefficient of P(VDF-TrFE) coupled with outstanding electrical properties of graphene makes the sensor device highly sensitive, with an average sensitivity of 0.76 kPa^-1, a gauge factor of 445, and signal-to-noise ratio of 60.8 dB in the range of pressure up to 45 mmHg. A model was proposed to explain the sensor operation, based on carrier density and mobility changes induced by the piezoelectric charge generated in response to strain, which was supported by Hall measurements and Raman spectroscopy. Potential applications in wearable sensing for human activity monitoring were also demonstrated.

Mapping the structural, electrical, and optical properties of hydrothermally grown phosphorus-doped ZnO nanorods for optoelectronic device applications

The phosphorus-doped ZnO nanorods were prepared using hydrothermal process, whose structural modifications as a function of doping concentration were investigated using X-ray diffraction. The dopant concentration-dependent enhancement in length and diameter of the nanorods had established the phosphorus doping in ZnO nanorods. The gradual transformation in the type of conductivity as observed from the variation of carrier concentration and Hall coefficient had further confirmed the phosphorus doping. The modification of carrier concentration in the ZnO nanorods due to phosphorus doping was understood on the basis of the amphoteric nature of the phosphorus. The ZnO nanorods in the absence of phosphorus showed the photoluminescence (PL) in the range of the ultraviolet (UV) and visible regimes. The UV emission, i.e. near-band-edge emission of ZnO, was found to be red-shifted after the doping of phosphorus, which was attributed to donor-acceptor pair formation. The observed emissions in the visible regime were due to the deep level emissions that were aroused from various defects in ZnO. The Al-doped ZnO seed layer was found to be responsible for the observed near-infrared (NIR) emission. The PL emission in UV and visible regimes can cover a wide range of applications from biological to optoelectronic devices.

Novel Interfacial Bulk Heterojunction Technique for Enhanced Response in ZnO Nanogenerator

In this paper, a direct sustainable approach for the development of a n-ZnO:p-CuO heterojunction (ZCH) through a simple grinding is reported to be an effective technique to enhance the piezoelectric performance of ZCH/polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) nanocomposite-based nanogenerators (ZP-PNGs). We have first optimized the best concentration for ZnO/PDMS nanocomposite for the realization of the piezoelectric nanogenerator. Later, with the same configuration, we implemented a novel, simple, facile, frugal, and inexpensive technique to fabricate ZCH. The heterojunction results in the improved charge transfer characteristics, low capacitance, and charge nullification contributing to the enhanced piezoelectric output. This reflects in the improvement of the peak-to-peak piezoelectric potential of the device from 2.7 to 9 V. The instantaneous max power density was found to be 0.2 mW/m². The device can work as a force sensor with improved sensitivity of 1.7 V/N compared to 1.05 V/N of the intrinsic device. The device is being systematically studied for load matching and capacitor charging to demonstrate its practicability. Furthermore, we tested our device to harness the biomechanical energy from day-to-day life activities. Finally, the device was used to fabricate sustainable piezoelectric-based smart urinal systems for low-income group countries.

Piezoelectric Biomaterials for Sensors and Actuators

Recent advances in materials, manufacturing, biotechnology, and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have fostered many exciting biosensors and bioactuators that are based on biocompatible piezoelectric materials. These biodevices can be safely integrated with biological systems for applications such as sensing biological forces, stimulating tissue growth and healing, as well as diagnosing medical problems. Herein, the principles, applications, future opportunities, and challenges of piezoelectric biomaterials for medical uses are reviewed thoroughly. Modern piezoelectric biosensors/bioactuators are developed with new materials and advanced methods in microfabrication/encapsulation to avoid the toxicity of conventional lead-based piezoelectric materials. Intriguingly, some piezoelectric materials are biodegradable in nature, which eliminates the need for invasive implant extraction. Together, these advancements in the field of piezoelectric materials and microsystems can spark a new age in the field of medicine.

Selective and highly efficient synthesis of xanthenedione or tetraketone derivatives catalyzed by ZnO nanorod-decorated graphene oxide

A new and efficient method for the pseudo three-component synthesis of diverse tetraketone or xanthenedione derivatives has been described in the presence of ZnO nanorods decorated graphene oxide.