Highly-Flexible Piezoelectric Nanogenerator based on BZT/PVDF-HFP for Mechanical Energy Harvesting

Abstract

Barium titanate (BaTiO ₃ ) as a kind of lead-free biocompatible ceramics, has become one of the most promising piezoelectric materials for fabricating piezoelectric nanogenerator. In order to increase the electrical performance of nanomaterials, Zirconium acetate was doped into BaTiO ₃ to form barium zirconate titanate (BaZr _x Ti _1-x O ₃ , short for BZT). In this study, we introduce a highly efficient piezoelectric energy harvester based on a Pb-free representative compound BaZr _0.1 Ti _0.9 O ₃ . Barium zirconate titanate (BZT) powders were prepared by sol-gel process. Piezoelectric nanogenerators were fabricated by various concentrations (10 wt.%; 15 wt.%; 20 wt.%; 25 wt.% and 30 wt.%) of BZT particles dispersed in PVDF-HFP matrix to form a nanocomposite. The electrical properties as well as the piezoelectric performance of the materials are monitored for the fabricated nanocomposite in mechanical energy harvesting. The as-prepared piezoelectric device of 20 wt.% BZT in PVDF-HFP exhibits an enhanced output voltage up to 4.6 V and power of 12.807 μW. Complex impedance plots show arcs which explain the impedance results. It can be seen that for 20 wt.% of BZT. The conducting charge reaches maximum, and therefore we contribute to the relaxation in the piezoelectric materials.