Nanocellulose Reinforced Flexible Composite Nanogenerators with Enhanced Vibrational Energy Harvesting and Sensing Properties

We report here enhanced vibration and pressure sensing properties of nanocellulose reinforced flexible composite piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENGs). Surface fluorinated nanocellulose crystals (FNC) were incorporated into poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and electrospun into composite nanofibers. Incorporation of only 2 wt % FNC in PVDF resulted in a significant enhancement in pressure sensitivity with a very low detectable pressure limit of 10 Pa and a sensitivity of up to 18 mV/kPa. The composite PENGs also demonstrated very high sensitivity for forced continuous vibrations. 2FNC/PVDF composites resulted in an order of magnitude higher voltage response over neat PVDF for a given strain. When PENGs were mounted on a vacuum pump for transduction of mechanical vibrations into electrical energy, 2FNC/PVDF composite devices manifested similar to 3.8 times enhanced voltage output over neat PVDF and faster charging of a capacitor. The enhanced piezoelectric properties of PVDF/FNC nanocomposites could be attributed to the tailored interface between PVDF and nanocellulose and enhanced polarizability.