Energy harvesting with flexible piezocomposite fabricated from a biodegradable polymer

Abstract

Technological advancement is generating a heap of electronic waste and has put onus on the production of wearable electronic systems to be environmentally sustainable without compromising much with their functionality. Many such systems employ flexible piezo sensors for force sensing and/or energy harvesting. In this work, we demonstrate the feasibility of fabricating a flexible piezoelectric energy harvester and sensor by reinforcing a biodegradable polymer polycaprolactone (PCL) with powders of ferroelectric-based piezoceramic systems PbTiO3–Bi(Zr0.5Ni0.5)O3 (PT-BNZ) and 1. The output volume power density of PCL-PTBNZ and PCL-BST was found to be 98.5 and 17 μW/cm3, respectively, for solenoid plunger pressure impact. The corresponding values in the tapping mode are 2556 and 1505 μW/cm3, respectively. The power output derived is significant and can be used to power micro and nano size electronic devices. Such composites can provide a better environment friendly and sustainable alternative to the current piezo energy harvesters.