Reviewed by Lexie CornerDec 17 2024

In a study published in ACS Nano, a team led by Prof. Jang Kyung-In from the Department of Robotics and Mechatronics Engineering created a three-dimensional stretchable piezoelectric energy harvester that uses body movements to generate electrical energy. The gadget is intended to be used as a wearable energy harvester, as it can be connected to the skin or clothing.

Image Credit: Fouad A. Saad/Shutterstock.com

There are two main types of energy harvesters: those that generate energy through triboelectric action and those that rely on piezoelectric action. Professor Jang's team developed a device based on the piezoelectric phenomenon, which generates electricity from physical activity, such as skin or joint movements.

While there are various studies on piezoelectric energy harvesters, most use organic or composite-based piezoelectric materials with low energy efficiency. This makes it difficult to extract enough power from body movements, limiting their potential as wearable energy devices.

Professor Jang's team created their device using lead zirconate titanate (PZT), a material with high piezoelectric efficiency. While PZT has excellent piezoelectric properties, it is hard and brittle, making it difficult to use in a stretchable device. However, the team developed PZT into a three-dimensional structure that is resistant to deformation, ensuring both high energy efficiency and stretchability.

They also introduced a novel curvature-specific coupling electrode design, dividing the electrodes into distinct parts to prevent the device's electrical energy from canceling out. This innovation resulted in an energy efficiency 280 times greater than that of conventional stretchable piezoelectric energy harvesters.

Developing this highly efficient stretchable piezoelectric energy harvester technology is a major achievement of this research. We expect this technology to become useful after commercialization and lead to the practical use of wearable energy harvesters.

Jang Kyung, Professor, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology

The study was funded by the National Research Foundation of Korea's STEAM Research Program, Future Leading Characterization Research Program, and NAVER's Digital Bio Research Program.

Journal Reference:

Yea, J., et al. (2024) Curvature-Specific Coupling Electrode Design for a Stretchable Three-Dimensional Inorganic Piezoelectric Nanogenerator. ACS Nano. doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.4c09933.

Source:

Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology