Journal ArticleDOI
Microfibre–nanowire hybrid structure for energy scavenging
TLDR
This work establishes a methodology for scavenging light-wind energy and body-movement energy using fabrics and presents a simple, low-cost approach that converts low-frequency vibration/friction energy into electricity using piezoelectric zinc oxide nanowires grown radially around textile fibres.Abstract:
Nanodevices don't use much energy, and if the little they do need can be scavenged from vibrations associated with foot steps, heart beats, noises and air flow, a whole range of applications in personal electronics, sensing and defence technologies opens up. Energy gathering of that type requires a technology that works at low frequency range (below 10 Hz), ideally based on soft, flexible materials. A group working at Georgia Institute of Technology has now come up with a system that converts low-frequency vibration/friction energy into electricity using piezoelectric zinc oxide nanowires grown radially around textile fibres. By entangling two fibres and brushing their associated nanowires together, mechanical energy is converted into electricity via a coupled piezoelectric-semiconductor process. This work shows a potential method for creating fabrics which scavenge energy from light winds and body movement. A self-powering nanosystem that harvests its operating energy from the environment is an attractive proposition for sensing, personal electronics and defence technologies1. This is in principle feasible for nanodevices owing to their extremely low power consumption2,3,4,5. Solar, thermal and mechanical (wind, friction, body movement) energies are common and may be scavenged from the environment, but the type of energy source to be chosen has to be decided on the basis of specific applications. Military sensing/surveillance node placement, for example, may involve difficult-to-reach locations, may need to be hidden, and may be in environments that are dusty, rainy, dark and/or in deep forest. In a moving vehicle or aeroplane, harvesting energy from a rotating tyre or wind blowing on the body is a possible choice to power wireless devices implanted in the surface of the vehicle. Nanowire nanogenerators built on hard substrates were demonstrated for harvesting local mechanical energy produced by high-frequency ultrasonic waves6,7. To harvest the energy from vibration or disturbance originating from footsteps, heartbeats, ambient noise and air flow, it is important to explore innovative technologies that work at low frequencies (such as <10 Hz) and that are based on flexible soft materials. Here we present a simple, low-cost approach that converts low-frequency vibration/friction energy into electricity using piezoelectric zinc oxide nanowires grown radially around textile fibres. By entangling two fibres and brushing the nanowires rooted on them with respect to each other, mechanical energy is converted into electricity owing to a coupled piezoelectric–semiconductor process8,9. This work establishes a methodology for scavenging light-wind energy and body-movement energy using fabrics.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Atomic Layer Deposition of Zinc Oxide on Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes for UV Photodetector Applications
Yu-Hung Lin,Po-Sheng Lee,Yang-Chih Hsueh,Ko-Ying Pan,Chi-Chung Kei,Ming-Hui Chan,Jyh Ming Wu,Tsong-Pyng Perng,Han C. Shih,Han C. Shih +9 more
TL;DR: In this paper, a novel process for the fabrication of ZnO-carbon nanotubes (CNT) nanocomposites with high uniformity by atomic layer deposition (ALD) was reported, and their applications in UV photodetectors were investigated.
Journal ArticleDOI
Wavefront velocity oscillations of carbon-nanotube-guided thermopower waves: nanoscale alternating current sources.
Joel T. Abrahamson,Wonjoon Choi,Nicole S. Schonenbach,Jungsik Park,Jae-Hee Han,Michael Walsh,Kourosh Kalantar-zadeh,Michael S. Strano +7 more
TL;DR: The theory of propagation velocity oscillations and the frequency dispersion are developed and analyzed, showing that for certain values of the chemical reaction kinetics and thermal parameters, oscillating wavefront velocities are possible.
Journal ArticleDOI
Growth of ZnO nanorod forests and characterization of ZnO-coated nylon fibers
TL;DR: ZnO nanorod forests were grown wrapping nylon fibers using a two-step process as discussed by the authors, in which the formation of ZnO seeds at nylon fiber surfaces was induced by the dip coating of zinc oxide nanosols; in the second step, the growth of the ZnOs seeds into nanoreod forests was carried out via a wet chemical route in a bath containing an equimolar solution of zinc nitrate hexahydrate and hexamethylenetetramine.
Journal ArticleDOI
Nylon Fibers as Template for the Controlled Growth of Highly Oriented Single Crystalline ZnO Nanowires
Thushara J. Athauda,Ruya R. Ozer +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the first controlled synthesis of large scale continuous arrays of single-crystalline ZnO nanowires with tunable size and properties on nylon fibers using a two-step low-temperature hydrothermal growth strategy was reported.
Journal ArticleDOI
High throughput ultralong (20 cm) nanowire fabrication using a wafer-scale nanograting template.
Jeongho Yeon,Young-Jae Lee,Dong Eun Yoo,Kyoung Jong Yoo,Jin Su Kim,Jun Lee,Jeong Oen Lee,Seon-Jin Choi,Gun-Wook Yoon,Dong Wook Lee,Gi Seong Lee,Hae Chul Hwang,Jun-Bo Yoon +12 more
TL;DR: This work devised a perfectly connected ultralong nanograting master template, and developed a fast and effective method for fabricating up to 20 cm long nanowire arrays on a plastic substrate, composed of metal, dielectric, oxide, and ferroelectric materials.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Piezoelectric Nanogenerators Based on Zinc Oxide Nanowire Arrays
TL;DR: This approach has the potential of converting mechanical, vibrational, and/or hydraulic energy into electricity for powering nanodevices.
Journal ArticleDOI
Ballistic carbon nanotube field-effect transistors
TL;DR: It is shown that contacting semiconducting single-walled nanotubes by palladium, a noble metal with high work function and good wetting interactions with nanotube, greatly reduces or eliminates the barriers for transport through the valence band of nanot tubes.
Journal ArticleDOI
Coaxial silicon nanowires as solar cells and nanoelectronic power sources
Bozhi Tian,Xiaolin Zheng,Thomas J. Kempa,Ying Fang,Nanfang Yu,Guihua Yu,Jinlin Huang,Charles M. Lieber +7 more
TL;DR: These coaxial silicon nanowire photovoltaic elements provide a new nanoscale test bed for studies of photoinduced energy/charge transport and artificial photosynthesis, and might find general usage as elements for powering ultralow-power electronics and diverse nanosystems.
Journal ArticleDOI
Energy scavenging for mobile and wireless electronics
Joseph A. Paradiso,Thad Starner +1 more
TL;DR: A whirlwind survey of energy harvesting can be found in this article, where the authors present a survey of recent advances in energy harvesting, spanning historic and current developments in sensor networks and mobile devices.
Journal ArticleDOI
Direct-current nanogenerator driven by ultrasonic waves
TL;DR: A nanowire nanogenerator that is driven by an ultrasonic wave to produce continuous direct-current output and offers a potential solution for powering nanodevices and nanosystems.