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
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
Graphene-Piezoelectric Material Heterostructure for Harvesting Energy from Water Flow
TL;DR: In this article, a graphene-piezoelectric material heterostructure is proposed for harvesting energy from water flow; it is shown that the introduction of a piezolectric template beneath graphene results in an obvious voltage output up to 0.1 V even with deionized (DI) water.
Journal ArticleDOI
Sodium Niobate Nanowire and Its Piezoelectricity
Tsung Ying Ke,Hsiang An Chen,Hwo-Shuenn Sheu,Jien Wei Yeh,Heh-Nan Lin,Chi-Young Lee,Hsin-Tien Chiu +6 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the first report of the preparation of NaNbO3 nanowires as well as the determination of piezoelectricity was presented, which was confirmed by piezoresponse force microscopy.
Journal Article
Performance Optimization of Vertical Nanowire-Based Piezoelectric Nanogenerators
Ronan Hinchet,Sangmin Lee,Gustavo Ardila,Laurent Montès,Mireille Mouis,Zhong Lin Wang,Zhong Lin Wang +6 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the mechanical and electrical structures of the integrated nanogenerator as an integrated system are optimized, and strategies for concentrating the mechanical strain field in the vertical nanowire arrays and increasing the force sensitivity are developed.
Journal ArticleDOI
Piezophotonic effect based on mechanoluminescent materials for advanced flexible optoelectronic applications
Xiandi Wang,Dengfeng Peng,Bolong Huang,Caofeng Pan,Caofeng Pan,Zhong Lin Wang,Zhong Lin Wang +6 more
TL;DR: In this article, a detailed description of the piezophotonics effect including its theoretical fundamental and practical applications is given, and a detailed analysis of the effect in doped ZnS CaZnOS, SrAl2O4 and LiNbO3 is presented.
Journal ArticleDOI
Wireless Monitoring of Automobile Tires for Intelligent Tires
Ryosuke Matsuzaki,Akira Todoroki +1 more
TL;DR: This review discusses key technologies of intelligent tires focusing on sensors and wireless data transmission, including indirect methods using existing sensors, and direct methods, such as surface acoustic wave sensors and piezoelectric sensors.
References
More filters
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.