High-performance hybrid cell based on an organic photovoltaic device and a direct current piezoelectric nanogenerator

The search for harvesting both the mechanical and solar energies from a single hybrid system is of significant value and represents a new trend in energy harvesting technologies. This single hybrid system can utilize both the energy sources easily available from nature and most importantly it is clean and sustainable. It is a novel technique involving completely different physical principles utilized for scavenging different types of energies. This report presents studies of a hybrid power generator made a direct-current piezoelectric nanogenerator based on ZnO nanosheets and a bulk heterojunction organic solar cell based on an inverted structure. The device shows much larger electric power output compared to its two individual power output components, which facilitates more effective multi-type energies harvesting and clarifies a mechanism for realizing multi-functional energy devices. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.