Fabrication and Characterization of Zinc Oxide-Based Electrospun Nanofibers for Mechanical Energy Harvesting

Abstract

Doped and undoped zinc oxide fibers were fabricated by electrospinning at various solution flow rates of 2, 4, and 6 μl/min followed by sintering at 550 °C. The nanogenerators (NGs) fabricated from the fibers were examined for their performance by applying loads (0.25–1.5 kg) representing fingers taps on the keyboard. A higher solution flow rate resulted in a larger fiber diameter, thus reducing nanogenerator voltage. The maximum power density for undoped zinc oxide-based and doped zinc oxide-based nanogenerators was 17.6 and 51.7 nW/cm2, respectively, under a load of 1.25 kg. Enhancing nanogenerator stability is a topic that should be investigated further.