Enhanced dielectric, ferroelectric and piezoelectric performance of Nd-ZnO nanorods and their application in flexible piezoelectric nanogenerator

Pure and Neodymium (Nd) doped ZnO nanorods were prepared using cost effective wet chemical coprecipitation method and used for the fabrication of flexible piezoelectric nanogenerator. The structure and morphology of ZnO and Nd-ZnO samples were studied using powder X-ray diffraction, FESEM and TEM techniques. Ferroelectric measurements showed a remanent polarization (P-r) of similar to 0.064 mu C/cm(2) and coercive field (E-c) of similar to 6.04 kV/cm, respectively at 600 V. Leakage current density was found to be reduced after Nd doping in ZnO nanorods. Enhanced Curie temperature (T-c = 125 degrees C) and large piezoelectric coefficient (d(33) = 512 pm/V) were observed in Nd doped ZnO nanorods, which makes Nd-ZnO a better candidate for piezoelectric energy harvesting and high temperature nano-storage devices. Moreover, flexible piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENGs) were fabricated using ZnO and Nd-ZnO nanorods. The Nd-doped ZnO based NG showed high piezoelectric performance by generating average voltage of similar to 31 V under finger tapping (similar to 0.3 N), which was more pronounced in comparison to ZnO based NG (similar to 2 V). (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.