Gram-scale Y-doped ZnO and PVDF electrospun film for piezoelectric nanogenerators

Abstract With the demand of green energy upsurging, piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENGs) are booming for next generation of wearable energy supply. In this work, Y-doped ZnO was manufactured with yield of ~3.2 g (~74%) in one pot, and PVDF/Y-doped ZnO electrospun films was fabricated with flexibility of PVDF and high piezoelectricity of Y-doped ZnO (Y–ZnO). Among all electrospun films, the degree of dipole orientation of PVDF and the contents of Y-doped ZnO in 15 Y-Z films is uppermost except for agglomerated 20 Y-Z electrospun film. Increasing amounts of Y–ZnO and enhanced alignment degree of PVDF cause increased piezoelectric output. When walking or running on 15 Y-Z PENG, output voltage raised to ~20 V and ~35 V, and capacitor of 5 μF was charged to ~2.8 V and ~3.7 V in 50 s. For 15 Y-Z PENG with high F(β) of 98%, its output voltage and current increased to ~13 V and ~1.6 μA, and its maximum instantaneous power density (~2 μW/cm2) was obtained with load of 10 MΩ at 40 N and 0.8 Hz. In addition, 15 Y-Z PENG can withstand compressing and releasing for 1100 s at 0.8 Hz. Such brilliant performance earns gigantic prospect of application on collecting teeny-weeny energy.