Extremely long piezoelectric nanowires created by the EMPIR nanowires team

A Joint Research Project within the European Metrology Research Programme EMPIR

The search for a synthesis method to create longer ZnO NWAs with high-quality vertical alignment, and the investigation of their electrical properties, have become increasingly important. In this study, a hydrothermal method for growing vertically aligned arrays of ZnO nanowires (NWs) using localized heating was utilized.

These NW structures have multiple applications, e.g., in piezotronic strain sensors, gas sensing, and piezoelectric energy harvesting. As proof of concept, a piezoelectric nanogenerator (PENG) was fabricated by embedding the NWs in a polymer matrix over a 15 mm × 15 mm area. Under repeated impulse-type compressive forces, a maximum peak output voltage of ~95.9 mV was recorded, which is higher by a factor of four to five than the peak output voltage of 21.6 mV previously obtained with NWs measuring ~1.8 μm in length.

ESPY33 Instrument from Electrosciences: our tool can be used to accurately measure the piezoelectric charge coefficient of materials and devices developed in this EMPIR project

For more information on this groundbreaking development, visit our Euramet page. The paper is available here: https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15101179

Images copywrite EURAMET project Nanowires. Techical University of Braunschweig