Abstract:
Flexible piezoelectric nanogenerators are attractive for wearable electronics owing to their fast response, lightweight, and low cost. Here, lead-free Ba0.85Ca0.15Zr0.10Ti0.90O3 (BCZT) ceramics were synthesized via a solidstate reaction route and incorporated into a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) matrix to form electrospun nanofibers using the electrospinning technique. Structural and morphological analysis (XRD, FTIR, and FESEM) confirmed uniform dispersion and enhanced beta-phase formation, with a maximum content of 91.2 % at 30 wt.% BCZT due to enhanced interfacial interactions that promoted beta-phase formation. Piezoelectric force microscopy revealed a piezoelectric coefficient (d(33)*) of similar to 160 pm/V. The optimized composite was fabricated into a piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH), producing an output voltage of 45.2 V, a current of 89.3 nA, and a power density of 239.5 mu W/cm(3) under a mechanical force of 50 N at 5 Hz, substantially higher than that of pure PVDF. A multilayer PEH further increased power density to 664.6 mu W/cm(3). These results highlight that electrospun PVDF-BCZT nanofibers offer a promising route towards high-performance, lead-free, and flexible devices for energy harvesting and sensing applications.
