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Updated: Oct 14, 2025
A Polymer-based Piezoelectric Vibration Energy Harvester with a 3D Meshed-Core Structure
Published on: February 20, 2019
Flexible layered cotton cellulose-based nanofibrous membranes for piezoelectric energy harvesting and self-powered
Leiyang Wang1, Tao Cheng1, Wangwei Lian1
1Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Mold (Ministry of Education), National Engineering Research Center for Advanced Polymer Processing Technology, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450002, China.
Abstract:
Cellulose has attracted an increasing attention for piezoelectric energy harvesting. However, the limited piezoelectricity of natural cellulose constraints the applications. Therefore, we demonstrate the development of piezoelectric nanogenerators based on robust, durable layered membranes composed of cotton cellulose interfaced maleic-anhydride-grafted polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF-g-MA) nanofibers. Exploiting polydopamine@BaTiO3 (pBT) nanoparticles as interlayer bridges, interlocked layer-layer interfaces that covalently bind component layers are constructed by a facile and scalable approach. As-obtained membranes exhibit significantly improved piezoelectricity with a maximum piezoelectric coefficient of 27.2 pC/N, power density of 1.72 μW/cm2, and stability over 8000 cycles. Substantial enhancement in piezoelectricity over pristine cellulose is ascribed to the synergy of components and the localized stress concentration induced by pBT nanoparticles. The self-powered device could also be used to detect human physiological motions in different forms. Such cellulose-based membranes can be up-scaled to fabricate ecofriendly, flexible and durable energy harvesters and self-powered wearable sensors.
