Low-cost Energy Harvesting using ZnO Nanorods on Paper Substrate

Abstract

Metal oxide based Nanodevices are used for energy generation, storage, and harvesting. Among the other metal oxides, ZnO shows high performance in piezoelectric energy generation. In this work, electrical energy generated from the stress produced by alphabets has been studied on 1D nanorods taking paper as a flexible and low-cost substrate for a novel wearable device. The study started with applying force on a single rod on the total surface, then on a small block out of the total surface, followed by line force and the letter “A” on the single block. Then, the array of nanorods is taken and tested for a line stroke, for the letters “ECE” and for SVEC ECE. It is found that the pressure applied to the material plays a significant role in voltage generation because the pressure distribution through the surface is inversely proportional to the material strength. Also, the varying height of the rods shows a great effect on the energy produced. When the height of the rods is halved, the energy produced is considerably reduced to half.