Energy harvesting from g-C3N4 piezoelectric nanogenerators

Abstract Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) is first explored in the application of energy capture by taking advantage of strong piezoelectricity derived from intrinsically non-centrosymmetric holes, leading to in-plane piezoelectricity even in multilayers or bulk structures. In the present work, we demonstrate the successful fabrication and efficient energy harvesting of g-C3N4-based piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENGs), where a several-fold enhancement of output performance is achieved by modulating precursors through tuning the intrinsic lattice strain and crystallinity of g-C3N4. Specifically, the best output voltage and a current density up to 1672 mV and 141 nA/cm2 are obtained from piezoelectric g-C3N4 synthesized using blended precursors of urea and melamine. This work sheds light on the investigation of g-C3N4-based PENGs for energy harvesting. There is clearly potential to develop multifunctional self-powered g-C3N4-based devices by combining the excellent optoelectronic, piezoelectric, and mechanical properties of g-C3N4.