Flexible carbon nanofiber electrodes for a lead zirconate titanate nanogenerator

The performance and stability of flexible carbon nanofiber (CNF) electrodes were investigated for a lead zirconate titanate (PZT) nanogenerator. A comparative study was carried out with indium tin oxide coated polyethylene 2,6-naphthalate (ITOP) electrodes. The piezo voltage generated for CNF/PZT/CNF was almost 2 V which is similar to 10% higher than ITOP/PZT/ITOP after the bending test. The increase in voltage shows a good contact probability between PZT nanofibers and CNF electrodes and demonstrates the feasibility of CNFs as flexible and stable electrodes for nanogenerators.