Vertically Aligned Piezoelectric Perovskite Nanowire Array on Flexible Conducting Substrate for Energy Harvesting Applications

Energy conversion based on vertically aligned piezoelectric nanowire (NW) arrays is of great interest because of their unusual properties originating from large surface area/high aspect ratio and excellent piezoelectric properties. Here, perovskite-structured piezoelectric BaTiO3 NW arrays are vertically grown onto the flexible Ti substrates by a two-step hydrothermal reaction to realize an aligned 1D nanostructures-based flexible energy harvester. The BaTiO3 NW array-based flexible piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH) successfully converts a maximum open-circuit voltage of approximate to 15 V, a maximum short-circuit current of approximate to 400 nA, and an effective power of approximate to 0.27 mu W during repeated bending deformations. Under pressing with an external force of 49.57 N, the harvested output signals of the vertically aligned NW arrays-based PEH are approximate to 20 V and approximate to 60 nA. Finite element analysis with multiphysics simulation supports the hypothesis of effective potential generation by the NW arrays-based flexible PEH. These results can aid in the further development of high-output 1D nanostructures-based flexible PEHs.