Multiphase coexisted perovskite/PVDF composite derived wearable piezo-tribo hybrid energy harvester for wireless smart applications

With the unprecedented advancement of smart, wearable, and flexible electronics the modern world is advancing towards the Internet of Things (IoT) era. To cope with this ever-increasing demand for smart electronics, a wearable and sustainable energy solution is highly desirable. Thus, the present work reports on a high-performance wearable power source assisted with piezoelectricity coupled triboelectricity based hybrid energy harvesting (HEH) phenomenon. A compatible (Ba0.85Ca0.15)(Ti0.90Hf0.10)O3 (BCHT) impregnated poly(vinylidene) fluoride (PVDF) composite was used as the functional layer for the HEH device. The excellent piezo nature (d33 ∼333 pC/N) of the incorporated fillers improves the electromechanical performance of the functional layer of HEH. This sustainable HEH shows excellent energy harvesting performance with an output voltage, current, and power density of ∼396 V ± 10 V, ∼ 30 µA ± 2 µA, and 1.72 mW/cm2, respectively. This excellent output performance of HEH is attributed to the synergistic phenomena occurring between the piezoelectric and triboelectric effects inside the device. This HEH shows excellent energy harvesting performance in scavenging bio-mechanical energies. Further, the fabricated HEH was utilized as a smart switch which acts as a source of signal generation for wireless smart home operations. In order to develop a Bluetooth enabled smart home connection, a 2 X 2 array of smart switches were assembled which can efficiently generate signals distinctively to control different equipment of a smart home such as light, fan, mobile charger, etc. Further, the fabricated HEH was used as a self-powered sensor to develop a smart parking system. Thus, with this excellent power generation capability and alignment towards wireless technology enables the designed HEH as the pervasive energy solution for flexible smart electronics.