Electrospun Piezoelectric Nanogenerator

本研究的目的是研究电纺压电纳米纤维对机械能的清除作用。本项目的方法是利用近场电纺工艺有序地沉积压电纳米纤维。当这些纳米纤维以正确的方式沉积和排列，并放置在正确的位置时，可以将机械能转化为电能。具体地说，直接从环境中获取工作能量的自供电系统是传感、个人电子和安全技术的一个吸引人的命题，提出了利用近场电纺原位拉伸和极化工艺来制备有序沉积的压电纳米纤维，这是该项目的关键创新。这些纳米纤维的放置、极性和方向都得到了很好的控制，从而使纳米电力发电应用成为可能。本项目将研究电纺压电纳米纤维的工艺方案，包括粘度、电导率、聚合物溶液的表面张力、外加电场、喷丝头的直径、液滴的大小以及包括温度、湿度和空气速度在内的环境参数，以实现以大面积能量收集器示范为目标的优化沉积和压电能量转换效率。电纺纳米纤维作为可能的发电机的展示将在能量收集、应变传感和驱动源等各个应用领域产生深远的影响。这将有利于一般的微机电系统社区启发新设备的开发。研究与教育的互动以及制造、材料科学和机械能转换之间的整合将成为下一代科学家和工程师在研究/教育专业知识方面多学科融合的引擎。

ABSTRACTThe objective of this research is to investigate mechanical energy scavenging by electrospun piezoelectric nanofibers. The approach of this project is to orderly deposit piezoelectric nanofibers using the near-field-electrospinning process. These nanofibers, when deposited and arranged in the right manner and put into the right places, could convert mechanical energy into electricity. Specifically, a self-powering system that harvests its operating energy directly from the environment is an attractive proposition for sensing, personal electronics and security technologies.This proposed in-situ stretching and poling process by the near-field-electrospinning for the production of orderly deposited piezoelectric nanofibers is the key innovation of the project. Placement, polarity and direction of these nanofibers are well-controlled to enable nanopower energy generation applications. This project will investigate process protocols of electrospun piezoelectric nanofibers, including viscosity, conductivity, surface tension of the polymer solution, applied electrical field, tip diameter of the spinneret, the size of the droplet, and ambient parameters including temperature, humidity and air velocity to have optimized deposition and piezoelectric energy conversion efficiency with a large area energy harvester demonstration as the goal. The demonstration of electrospun nanofibers as possible power generators could have a profound impact in various application areas, including energy harvesting, strain sensing, and actuation sources. It will benefit the general Microelectromechanical Systems community to inspire new device development. The synergy of research and education interaction and integration between manufacturing, material sciences and mechanical energy conversion will be an engine for the multidisciplinary fusion in research/education expertise for the next-generation scientists and engineers.