High-Performance Piezoelectric Nanogenerator Based on Low-Entropy Structured Nanofibers for a Multi-Mode Energy Harvesting and Self-Powered Ultraviolet Photodetector

Piezoelectric nanogenerators (PNG) based on flexible inorganic nanomaterials have attracted significant attention due to their superior flexibility and high output performance. However, achieving high inorganic nanomaterial dispersibility in piezoelectric composites is still a challenge for enhancing the electrical outputs. We have implemented a method for increasing the dispersibility of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles implanted in poly(vinylidene fluoride trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) composites by generating a d-phenylalanine (d-phe) chelate with ZnO nanoparticles. The flexible electronic devices assembled with the chelate d-phe@ZnO/P(VDF-TrFE) composites possess multifunctionality and superior electrical outputs. d-phe@ZnO/P(VDF-TrFE) PNG exhibits a maximum output voltage of 33 V and a power density of 8.5 μW/cm2, which are significant improvement compared to pure P(VDF-TrFE) and ZnO/P(VDF-TrFE) composite PNGs. An output voltage of 25 V can be obtained from the designed PNG by finger tapping and provided sufficient power to light 15 LEDs. Furthermore, the high-sensitivity and fast-response to the ultraviolet (UV) illumination of the designed composites demonstrate their potential application of the self-powered UV photodetectors. Such a nanogenerator has multiple application modes, indicating great potential in the application of the piezo-phototropic technology.