Flexible ZnO-PVDF/PTFE based piezo-tribo hybrid nanogenerator

Triboelectric and piezoelectric nanogenerators based on triboelectric and piezoelectric effects are being explored to harvest electrical energy from the mechanical vibrations. These two different effects can be combined when one of the materials in the triboelectric nanogenerator is a piezoelectric material. In the present work, we have prepared ZnO-PVDF film and fabricated piezo-tribo based hybrid nanogenerator by coupling with PTFE. It is found that when ZnO is incorporated into the PVDF matrix, not only the piezoelectric property but also the triboelectric property of PVDF is enhanced. The ZnO-PVDF based piezo-tribo hybrid generator gives an instantaneous maximum output power of ~ 24.5 µW/cm2, which is ~ 2.5 times more as compared to bare PVDF based hybrid nanogenerator. The enhancement has been achieved without any surface treatment or electrical poling, just by introducing ZnO nanorods into PVDF matrix. Therefore, this will give a new approach to enhance both the piezoelectric as well as triboelectric effect and exploiting both the effects simultaneously in one device.