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Institute
Microscopic and spectroscopic characterization of interfaces and dielectric layers for OFET devices
(2009)
Copper oxide (CuO) is an attractive p-type oxide semiconductor with narrow band gap that has intriguing properties such as non-toxicity, chemical stability, electrocatalytic activity, abundant availability and low production cost. Polymeric materials have attracted great interest owing to their high flexibility, light weight, low cost production and high resistance against corrosion. Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) is a commonly used piezoelectric polymer due to its excellent flexibility and piezoelectric properties. In this work, we adopted a one-pot synthesis of CuO nanowires by facile and selective chemical etching process of Cu substrate. XPS, XRD, SEM data ascribed the formation of polycrystalline CuO nanowires over the entire Cu surface. It has been observed that the uniformity, shape and size of the nanowires could be conveniently controlled by etching time and etchant concentration. We have also prepared piezoelectric nanogenerator based on the flexible PVDF/CuO composite film, where the traditional electrical poling treatment was avoided. In addition, dielectric properties have been studied to demonstrate the role of interfacial polarization.
A self-poled piezoelectric nanogenerator (NG) based on bismuth oxide (Bi2O3) nanostructures (BNS)-doped poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) is demonstrated. The in-situ formation of BNS incorporated in the PVDF matrix is realized through a simple solution casting technique that favors the nucleation and stabilization of 99.6% of the electroactive phase in PVDF (i.e., beta/gamma-phases). The enhancement of the output voltage (3.6 V) and current (2.4mA) of the NG based on a nonelectrically poled BNS containing PVDF composite film is achieved and demonstrated by simple repeated human finger imparting. The improvement of the output performance is influenced by the generation of the electroactive polar beta-phase in PVDF, due to the electrostatic interactions between the –CH2–/–CF2– dipoles of PVDF and the surface charge of the BNS.
The NGs are able to charge up capacitors demonstrating that the power generation from such a hybrid device structure can be utilized for powering various portable devices.
The design and development of intrinsically stretchable all-organic self-powered sensors concurrently perceiving temperature and pressure remain a challenge but deliver an exciting platform to realize environmentally friendly wearable electronics. In this approach, a biomimetic all-organic stretchable energy harvester is designed by a xylitol-added poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(4-styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS/Xyl) film as a compatible overlay electrode with polyaniline-reinforced one-dimensional aligned poly(vinylidene fluoride) hybrid electroactive soft nanowires. The gradient of elastic modulus between the electrode and the active nanowire component enables the all-organic device to manifest excellent power-generating performance under external temperature fluctuation (∼3 μW/m2 under ΔT ∼ 92 K) and mechanical force (∼31 μW/cm2 at 30 N). Importantly, the device renders simultaneous energy scavenging of temperature and pressure changes under pressing and stretching conditions (∼20%). The excellent mechanosensitivity (∼100 mV/N), fast response time (∼1 ms), outstanding mechanical and thermal stability, and good temperature resolution <10 K enable the harvester to act as an epidermal sensor, which simultaneously detects and discriminates both subtle pressure and thermal deviations exposed to an epidermis surface. The real-time recording and wireless transferring of physiological signals to a smartphone indicate an effective way to realize remote healthcare monitoring for early intervention.
Flexible and wearable e-skin sensors are attracting a great interest for their smart sensing applications in next-generation electronics. However, implant ability, sensitivity, and biosignal detection capability in a self-powered manner are the prime concerns in embedded devices. In particular, electrode compatibility and imperishability have become challenging issues in wearable sensors due to the poor compatibility and fragileness of metal electrodes. In this context, we report on a skin-interactive metal-free spongy electrode in a piezoelectric sensor where highly aligned poly(vinylidenefluoride) (PVDF) nanofibers (NFs) arrays are introduced as the piezoelectric active component and conducting polyaniline- (PANI-) coated PVDF (PANI−PVDF) NFs mats served as flexible electrodes. Notably, a 99% yield of piezoelectric phases of the aligned PVDF arrays is the key factor to exhibit promising mechano-sensitivity (0.8 V/kPa) performance that in turn helps in human-health monitoring. The sensor shows excellent mechanical to electrical energy conversion that enable to sense human finger touch (10 V under 10 kPa) with energy conversion efficiency of 53%. Most importantly, due to the compatible electrodes excellent mechanical stability has been found showing negligible degradation over 12,000 periodic cycles. Furthermore, under mechanical stimuli, it is also possible to charge up a capacitor (1μF) to 4 V within 60 s confirming the possibility to use the device as a self-powered piezo-organic-e-skin sensor (POESS). This type of structural design enables to trace elusive movement of muscles and the operation in several conditions such as bending, compression and stretching. We demonstrated various human gestures monitoring, such as wrist bending, neck stretching, and arm compressions, throat movements during drinking water, coughing actions, and swallowing. In addition, diverse specific phonation recognition, heart-pulse measurement and its respective short-time Fourier transform (STFT) analysis indicate an efficient and convenient way of monitoring human-health status particularly in hospital-free mode.
This paper reports a self-powered,flexible, piezo- and pyro-electric hybrid nanogenerator (NG) device that can be fixed on different locations of human skin for detecting static and dynamic pressure variations and can also monitor temperature fluctuations during the respiration process. An efficient and cost-effective fabrication strategy has been developed to create electrospun poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/graphene oxide (GO) nanofibers, which are used to create a highly sensitive wearable pressure sensor and pyroelectric breathing sensor. The sensor can accurately and rapidly
detect pressures as low as 10 Pa with a high sensitivity (4.3 V/kPa), a key performance indicator for wearable sensors. Importantly, the sensor exhibits a high sensitivity to bending and stretching by finger, wrist, and elbow. The pressure sensor is also highly sensitive to vocal vibrations when attached to the human throat. The device can generate a maximum output power density of∼6.2 mW/m2 when subjected to a compressive stress, which enhances its range of applications. Moreover, it is demonstrated that doping with GO improves the pyroelectric energy harvesting and sensing performance of the device under repeated temperature fluctuations. The PVDF/GO-based nanogenerator has a maximum pyroelectric output power density of∼1.2 nW/m2 and can sense temperature changes during respiration, which makes it promising as a pyroelectric breathing sensor. It is demonstrated that processing of the PVDF-GO self-powered multifunctional pressure and pyroelectric breathing sensor can be up-scaled for fabricating compact and high-performance electronic skins for application in health monitoring, motion detection, and portable electronics.
In this work we report on the preparation of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) films with various mass fractions (wt%) of hydrated rare earth metal salt [(NH4)4Ce(SO4)4.2H2O] (CAS) and its electroactive phase (β- and γ-phase) formation. It was found that CAS can yield high amount of electroactive phases in PVDF. Compared to the neat PVDF film, a significantly increment of dielectric constant (ε ∼ 41) and a low loss factor (tan δ ∼ 0.8) were observed in the PVDF-CAS composite films. Thus the PVDF-CAS composite films with high electroactive phase and superior dielectric properties may meet the requirements of next generation electronic components.
Natural piezoelectric materials are of increasing interest, particularly for applications in biocompatible, implantable, and flexible electronic devices. In this paper, we introduce a cost-effective, easily available natural piezoelectric material, that is, sugar in the field of wearable piezoelectric nanogenerators (PNGs) where low electrical output, biocompatibility, and performance durability are still critical issues. We report on a high-performance piezoorganic nanogenerator (PONG) based on the hybridization of sugar-encapsulated polyvinylidenefluoride (PVDF) nanofiber webs (SGNFW). We explore the crucial role of single-crystal sugar having a fascinating structure along with the synergistic enhancement of piezoelectricity during nanoconfinement of sugar-interfaced macromolecular PVDF chains. As a consequence, the SGNFW-based PONG exhibits outstanding electricity generation capability (e.g.,∼100 V under 10 kPa human finger impact and maximum power density of 33 mW/m2) in combination with sensitivity to abundantly available different mechanical sources (such as wind flow, vibration, personal electronics, and acoustic vibration). Consequently, it opens up suitability in multifunctional self-powered wearable sensor designs for realistic implementation. In addition, commercially available capacitors are charged up effectively by the PONG because of its rapid energy storage capability. The high performance of the PONG not only offers“battery-free”energy generation (several portable units of light-emitting diodes and a liquid crystal display screen are powered up without using external storage) but also promises its use in wireless signal transmitting systems, which widens the potential in personal health care monitoring. Furthermore, owing to the geometrical stress confinement effect, the PONG is proven to be a highly durable power-generating device validated by stability test over 10 weeks. Therefore, the organic nanogenerator would be a convenient solution for portable personal electronic devices that are expected to operate in a self-powered manner.