Flexible ZnO nanogenerator for mechanical energy harvesting

In this work, we study and simulate the piezoelectric effect of Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanowire (NW). We have fabricated a flexible ZnO Nanogenerator (NG) based on the piezoelectric effect of ZnO nanowires. The ZnO nanowires were prepared by a simple solvothermal method. Zinc acetate and NaOH were used as the precursors and ethanol as the solvent. A novel method was developed for producing ZnO nanofilms (NFs) based on solvothermal ZnO NW formation. In ZnO NF, nanowires are stacked laterally and densely. Based on ZnO NF stacking, we fabricated a novel flexible ZnO nanogenerator with a PI-NF-PI sandwich structure. Ag is deposited on the polyimide (PI) substrate, which are electrodes for the of ZnO nanogenerator. ZnO NF is placed between the two PI substrates, thus forming a PI-NF-PI sandwich structure. The entire nanogenerator can be bent freely. The flexible nanogenerator is robust and can be used in many environments. The open-circuit output voltage and short-circuit current of a ZnO nanogenerator were measures to be 0.166 V and 10 nA, respectively.