Nanogenerators consisting of direct-grown piezoelectrics on multi-walled carbon nanotubes
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Jin Kyu Han,, Do Hyun Jeon, SamYeon Cho,, SinWook Kang,, Sun A.Yang,Sang Don Bu,, Sung Myung, Jongsun Lim, Moonkang Choi, Minbaek Lee & Min Ku Lee
piezoelectrics on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (mwCNT). Direct-grown piezoelectrics on mwCNTs are formed by a stirring and heating method using a Pb(ZrTi)O (PZT)-mwCNT precursor solution.
and CNTs resulting from the stronger connection between PZT crystals and mwCNTs and an enhanced the application of nanogenerators using piezoelectric nanocomposite materials.
Nanogenerators (NGs) for renewable energy harvesting are receiving increasing attention, with researchers exploring a number of possible natural energy sources including thermoelectricity, solar energy, and mechanical movement. Among these, mechanical movement is advantageous because it can provide energy continuously without any environmental restrictions. Several NGs have been developed for mechanical energy harvesting through the use of nanoscale piezoelectric materials such as ZnO NW1, Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) nanowires2,
Pb(Mg,Nb)O3-PbTiO3 (PMN-PT) nanowires3, and BaTiO3 (BTO) nanotubes4. Recently, composite-type NGs consisting of nanoscale piezoelectric materials and exible one-dimensional nanostructures have been fabricated to enhance endurance and exibility58. However, the output power of composite-type NGs needs further improvement for practical applications.
Enhanced electromechanical coupling is predicted at the nanoscale due to the exoelectric eect, caused by inhomogenous strain or a strain gradient9. Although the exoelectric coefficient is very small in bulk materials (~1010 C m1), it becomes more signicant below 100 nm (~105 C m1). Enhancement of piezoelectricity by the exoelectric eect was observed experimentally in buckled PZT nanoribbons (a few hundred nm thick)10.
Control of the internal electric eld in BiFeO3 thin lms due to the exoelectric eect has been achieved11. However, not much work has been done to investigate the origin of the exoelectric eect in nanomaterials, or to exploit it in real-life applications such as renewable energy harvesting.
In this letter, a simple, cost-eective synthesis method for exible composite-type NGs is demonstrated utilizing PZT directly-grown on mwCNTs (PZT-CNTs). Mechanical deformation in our PZT-CNTs by a Teon-disk-equipped tapping machine generated a maximum output voltage and current of 8.6 V and 47 nA, respectively. The output voltage and current is about ten times higher than NGs using simply mixed composites with crystallized PZT and mwCNTs. In order to understand the enhancement of the output power, we investigated the atomic-scale unit cell orientation and strain distribution of epitaxial PZT nanoparticles grown directly
Thin Film Materials Research Center,
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Figure 1. Synthesis and characterization of PZT NP-CNTs and PZT-CNTs. (a) Schematic diagram of PZT-CNTs. FESEM images of (b) mwCNTs, (c) PZT NP-CNTs, and (df) PZT-CNTs. (g) Thermogravimetry curves of mwCNTs, PZT NP-CNTs, and PZT-CNTs during heat treatment. (h) Raman spectrum of PZT-CNTs indicating the perovskite phase of PZT.
on mwCNTs (PZT NP-CNTs) prepared by ltering the PZT precursor and mwCNT mixed solution. PZT-CNT NGs, together with the so nature of our CNT devices, will pave the way for a future application such as mobile and wearable electronics.
Results
Synthesis and characterization of PZT NP-CNTs and PZTs-CNTs. Figure1a shows a schematic diagram illustrating PZT-CNTs composed of mwCNTs with defects including carboxylic groups (-COOH), PZT NPs, and PZT crystals. Details of the synthesis process are shown in Supplementary Fig. S1. PZT NPs nucleate at defect sites on the mwCNTs, and PZT crystals grow on the PZT NPs. Defects on mwCNTs are formed by an acid treatment which alters the mwCNT surface to have a hydrophilic nature (Supplementary Fig. S2)12. Here, the carboxylic group plays a key role by inducing the crystallization of PZT onto the mwCNT surface during the PZT coating process13. Morphological characterizations of mwCNTs, PZT NP-CNTs, and PZT-CNTs are shown in Fig.1bd, respectively. PZT NPs decorate the surface of mwCNTs as shown in Fig.1c. Figure1d shows PZTCNTs consisting of approximately 5-m PZT crystals and PZT NP-CNTs incorporated into the PZT crystals. PZT NP-CNTs are observed on the outside of the crystals (Fig.1e) as well as inside the crystals (Fig.1f), which indicates that the PZT NP-CNTs are uniformly dispersed. The loading of PZT on mwCNTs is obtained from thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) as shown in Fig.1g. Above 600 C, the oxidation temperature of mwCNTs, the PZT content of PZT NP-CNTs and PZT-CNTs was 44.94 1.78% and 99.03 0.03%, respectively, which is highlighted by the near-oxidation of mwCNTs. Figure1h presents Raman spectra of PZT-CNTs, which provides a sensitive way to detect tetragonal symmetry in crystals with the perovskite structure. Tetragonal PZT belongs to the space group P4mm, so 3A1+B1+ 4E modes are found in its Raman spectrum. Raman peaks at 205, 275, 533, and 724cm1 are observed, corresponding to E(2TO), E+ B1, E(3TO), and A1(3LO) of PZT, respectively. These phonon modes are typical Raman peaks of the perovskite PZT phase14. Therefore, we can conrm the tetragonality of the PZT crystals in PZT-CNTs. Moreover, bands at 1330, 1581, and 1616cm1 are observed, corresponding
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Figure 2. Morhpology and structure of PZT NP-CNTs. (a) FETEM images and (b) SAED patterns of PZT NP-CNTs. The inset histogram shows the diameter distribution of PZT NPs. (ce) EDS mapping on Pb, Zr, and Ti, respectively. (f) HRTEM images of the PZT NP-CNTs and (g,h) magied images showing the crystal growth direction with (101) perovskite of the PZT NPs as marked 1, 3, respectively.
to disordered sp2 carbon in the mwCNTs (denoted by the D band), well-ordered graphite structures (denoted by the G band), and end planes of graphene layers (denoted by the D band), respectively15.
Field-emission transmission electron microscopy (FETEM) was performed for elemental structural analysis of PZT NP-CNTs (Fig.2a). The diameter distribution of the PZT NPs is shown in the le inset of Fig.2a, and the average diameter is 14.0nm. Crystallinity was investigated by selective area electron diraction (SAED) as shown in Fig.2b. In the SAED patterns, reections at 3.42 and 2.11 correspond to the lattice spacings of the mwCNT (002) and (004) planes. The measured lattice spacings of 4.14, 4.03, 2.89, 2.85, 2.07, and 2.01 in the NPs correspond to the PZT perovskite (001), (100), (101), (110), (002), and (200) crystal planes, respectively (JCPDS No. 33-0784), indicating that the NPs are polycrystalline. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) mapping of Pb, Zr, and Ti was performed on the PZT NP-CNTs (Fig.2ce) using scanning transmission electron microscopy. Pb, Zr, and Ti are clearly identiable on the NPs conrming that they are PZT. High-resolution TEM (HRTEM) images were taken to understand the detailed crystallographic growth behavior of PZT NP-CNTs. In Fig.2f, HRTEM reveals a well-dened PZT NP geometry on mwCNTs and clear lattice reections. The polycrystalline nature of the PZT NPs was clearly observed, as also indicated by SAED patterns. Here, defects can be found on the surface of mwCNTs (indicated by red arrows), and we see that PZT NPs nucleate at the defects. The PZT NPs have
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Figure 3. NG property of PZT-CNTs and blended-PZT-CNTs. (a,c) Output voltage and (e,g) current generated from PZT-CNTs and blended-PZT-CNTs, respectively. Magnied (b,d) output voltage and (f,h) current from PZT-CNTs and blended-PZT-CNTs.
lattice reections corresponding to the (101) and (110) planes of the perovskite PZT phase and the (331) plane of the pyrochlore PZT phase (Supplementary Table S1). The nearest PZT NPs to the CNT surface, especially, are mainly comprised of (101) planes of the perovskite PZT phase as shown in Fig.2g,h. Despite the high temperature annealing in nitrogen atmosphere, the ratio of oxygen-decient secondary phase in the PZT NPs is very low. We believe that one of the reasons is the diusion of carbonyl group, formed on the surface of mwCNTs during the functionalization process of mwCNTs, into PZT NPs (Supplementary Figs S3 and S4)16.
Fabrication and characterization of NGs using PZT-CNTs. In order to verify the NG properties, exible lms containing PZT-CNTs were sandwiched between two Au/Cr-coated polyimide layers (Supplementary Fig. S5). We measured the open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current of PZT-CNT lms during periodic tapping as shown in Fig.3. The output signals were generated by a compressive force of 20 N. Figure3a,c show that the voltage and current reach ~8.6 V and ~47 nA, respectively. Voltage and current were also measured in reverse to verify that the signal was generated by the piezoelectric property of the PZT-CNT lms, and when the connection was switched the polarity of the output signal was inverted. The output voltage and current exhibit lifetimes (determined by the full width at half maximum) of 151 ms and 45 ms, which are shown in Fig.3b,d, respectively. Compared to blended lms with PZT powder and mwCNTs (blended-PZT-CNTs), the output voltage and current of PZT-CNT lms was enhanced by a factor of 10, and the lifetimes of their output voltage and current were reduced by 30% and 52%, respectively. This enhancement is most likely caused by the improved contact between PZT crystals and mwCNTs. Therefore, we conclude that the direct growth of PZT crystals onto mwCNTs enhances the output voltage and current, and reduces the lifetime of signals of NGs based on PZT-CNT relative to blended-PZT-CNT NGs.
Atomic-scale unit cell distribution of PZT NP-CNTs. In order to find the origin of the enhanced NG properties, we prepared epitaxial PZT NPs on mwCNTs by controlling the molarity of PZT solution (Supplementary Fig. S6). The molarity was varied from 0.3 M to 0.1 M as shown in Fig. S6ac. As the molarity decreases, the PZT NPs become small and they transform from polycrystalline to epitaxial. The 0.1M PZT solution leads to epitaxial PZT NPs which are ideal for observing the internal strain distribution (Fig.4). Figure4b is a magnied image of Fig.4a, and shows on the atomic scale how PZT NPs nucleate and grow on the surface of mwCNTs. HRTEM shows that the PZT NPs size is about 5 nm. Figure4c shows the epitaxial relationship of perovskite PZT NP unit cells (indicated by yellow dots) relative to unit cells of mwCNTs (indicated by green dots). Illustrations of PZT and mwCNT unit cells, based on lattice proles, are shown in Figs4d,e and S7. The lattice parameter of the mwCNTs (CC) is about 2.46 , which is similar to armchair type-CNTs (2.44 ). In
PZT NPs, the distance of the nearest lattice on the mwCNTs (1st dPZT) is 2.71 , and that of the 4th and 5th lattice are 3.24, 4.07 , respectively. The change of lattice distance indicates a strain gradient, which may contribute to the enhancement of the NG properties of PZT-CNT lms by adding exoelectricity to piezoelectrictity (Supplementary Fig. S7).
Lattice distortion and rotation in the PZT NPs can be mapped at the atomic scale from HRTEM images using geometrical phase analysis (GPA). GPA generates quantitative lattice distortion and rotation maps from standard HRTEM images. Here GPA is used to quantify the local lattice shear strain of PZT NPs grown on mwCNTs, as shown in Fig.5. Figure5a shows HRTEM images of PZT NPs grown on the surface of mwCNTs and Fig.5b displays the Fourier-ltered power spectrum of PZT NPs. In Fig.5b, the lattice spacing of the (101) plane ranges from 2.67 to 2.94. In the lattice distortion and rotation maps shown in Fig.5c,d, the lattice strain of the PZT NPs on the near part of the mwCNTs is relaxed along the growth direction, which is consistent with the lattice distance change measured by HRTEM in Fig.4.
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Figure 4. Atomic-scale unit cell distribution of PZT NP-CNTs. (a) HRTEM images of epitaxial PZT NPCNTs, (b) magnied image of the PZT NPs, and (c) magnied image showing atomic arrangements. (d) Atomic arrangement and (e) lattice spacings of PZT and mwCNTs.
Discussion
We predicted that this enhancement of the NG properties is due to the following eects. First, direct growth of PZT crystals on mwCNTs improves the dispersibility of PZT-CNTs in PDMS. Well-dispersed PZT-CNTs avoid electrical shorting when ferroelectric domains are poled at high voltage and minimize leakage current when electrical output is generated by mechanical movement. This is consistent with the experimental observation of an NG based on a BTO NP-coated virus8. Second, electrical properties may be improved by the (001) preferred orientation of the PZT crystals on the mwCNTs, as shown in Fig.2. Here, PZT-CNTs have a similar structure to PZT NP-CNTs, since they were subjected to the same stirring and heating process. This result is in agreement with previous work, which showed that the piezoelectric constant of PMN-PT with (001) texture is higher than that of randomly oriented PMN-PT17. Third, improvement in NG performance may result from the exoelectric eect, i.e. electrical polarization caused by a strain gradient18. A recent study reported that the piezoelectric coefficient of exible PZT nanomaterials increased due to the exoelectric eect10. Therefore, we suggest that exoelectric eects can also contribute to the enhancement of PZT-CNT NG properties.
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Figure 5. Geometrical phase analysis of PZT NP-CNTs. (a) HRTEM image, (b) Fourier-ltered power spectrum of PZT NP-CNTs grown at the end of mwCNTs, (c) lattice deformation and (d) rotation maps of PZT NP-CNTs.
In conclusion, we report the direct growth of PZT on mwCNTs and demonstrate piezoelectric NGs based on a PZT-CNT and PDMS matrix. PZT NP-CNTs are characterized by atomic-scale crystal PZT NPs on mwCNTs, as conrmed by FETEM analysis. Crystal orientation and density of PZT NPs on PZT NP-CNTs can be controlled by varying the molarity of PZT solution. Growth of PZT on mwCNTs caused an enhancement of NG output voltage compared to a simple mixture of PZT and mwCNTs. Prototype NGs based on PZT-CNTs repeatedly generated a voltage output of 8.6V and a current output of 47nA at a mechanical force of 20N, approximately ten times higher than mixed PZT and mwCNTs. These results represent a signicant step toward the application of NGs in exible electronics, portable devices, and mechanical sensors.
Methods
Pretreatment of mwCNTs. As-grown mwCNTs (Cabon Nano-materials Technology, Korea) contain a variety of impurities including amorphous carbon, carbonaceous impurities, and metal catalyst particles. The pretreatment procedure of mwCNTs consisted of three steps. As-grown mwCNTs were oxidized at 550C in air to remove the carbonaceous impurities. Then, oxidized mwCNTs were immersed in a 6 M HCl solution with a ratio of 0.1 wt% and stirred at room temperature. This is referred to as the purication step. Aer purication, mwCNTs were neutralized with deionized (DI) water using centrifugation and dried on the hot plate at 80C. Puried mwCNTs shorten and become dispersive with open ends by chemical-etching of the amorphous carbon. HCl-treated mwCNTs were immersed in a HNO3/H2SO4 solution and stirred at 80 C to functionalize them.
Finally the mwCNTs were neutralized again with DI water and dried. The functionalization treatment creates structural defects and the formation of various organic groups such as carboxylic (-COOH), carbonyl (-C=O), and hydroxyl (-COH).
Preparation of PZT-CNTs for NGs. PZT-CNTs were synthesized by reuxing, drying, and annealing a mixed solution including PZT NP-CNTs and PZT. The detailed process for the fabrication of PZT-CNTs is shown in Supplementary Fig. S1. PZT NP-CNTs were prepared by reuxing and ltering a mixed solution including PZT
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and functionalized mwCNTs with a syringe lter. A homogeneous 0.3 M PZT precursor solution was prepared via a modied 2-methoxyethanol-based sol-gel process19. The functionalized mwCNTs were sonicated into the precursor solution until a good suspension was obtained. The mixed solution was heated at 60 C for 36 h and stirred via a magnetic bar in a two-necked round-bottom ask equipped with a water-cooled reux condenser (a reux process) to seed the PZT decorating the surface of mwCNTs. The ltered powder was dried overnight at 80C, ground to a ne powder using a mortar and pestle, pyrolyzed at 400C in air and annealed at 500700C in a nitrogen atmosphere. PZT NP-CNT powder was again mixed and reuxed under the same conditions as the previous process. Here, the weight ratio of CNT to PZT was 1:15. The solution was dried overnight at 80C in the evaporating dish, and heated to 500700C in a nitrogen atmosphere to induce crystallization. The dried
PZT-CNT powder was then scraped o the dish using a at spatula, ground using a mortar and pestle, pyrolyzed at 400C in air, and annealed at 500700C in a nitrogen atmosphere.
Measurement of PZT-CNT NGs. Flexible PZT-CNT lms were fabricated by mixing PZT-CNT powder into PDMS via the mechanical rambling method. Here, the weight ratio of the powder/PDMS was 15:85. The mixed powder/PDMS was spin-coated onto the exible plastic substrate to form a lm approximately 200300m thick. Aer drying, the coated lms were peeled o and sandwiched between two Au/Cr-deposited polyimide lms. In order to conrm the eect of PZT decorating the mwCNTs, mixed PZT and CNT lms were also prepared. To enhance the piezoelectric eect of lms, we applied a 2.5 kV mm1 DC electric eld across the electrodes at 150C for 48h for electrical polarity. Output voltage and current were measured using a Keithley 2410 source meter, applying a periodic force with a 0.3Hz repetition rate using a linear motor equipped with a Teon stack.
Characterization of PZT NPs-CNTs. Microstructural characteristics of PZT-CNTs and PZT NP-CNTs were investigated using FETEM and FESEM. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was carried out using SDT-Q600 at a 10C min1 heating rate under air ow (200ml/min). The crystal structure was analyzed by SAED and Raman spectroscopy (Nanonder 30; KBSI Jeonju Center, Korea).
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF) grant funded by the Korea government(MSIP) (NRF-2015R1A2A2A01006343), and supported by the Nuclear Power Core Technology Development Program of the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) funded by the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy, Republic of Korea (No. 20131520000210). This research was also supported by the Center for Advanced So-Electronics funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning as a Global Frontier Project (Code No. 2011-0031636).
Author Contributions
J.K.H. and S.D.B. designed the experiments, analysed the data and wrote the paper. D.H.J., S.Y.C., S.W.K., S.A.Y. and M.K.C. performed experimental measurements and analyzed the data. S.M., M.B.L. and M.K.L. conceived the idea and designed the experiment. S.D.B. and J.S.L. supervised research. All authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript.
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Additional Information
Supplementary information accompanies this paper at http://www.nature.com/srep
Competing nancial interests: The authors declare no competing nancial interests.
How to cite this article: Han, J. K. et al. Nanogenerators consisting of direct-grown piezoelectrics on multi-walled carbon nanotubes using exoelectric eects. Sci. Rep. 6, 29562; doi: 10.1038/srep29562 (2016).
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Copyright Nature Publishing Group Jul 2016
Abstract
We report the first attempt to prepare a flexoelectric nanogenerator consisting of direct-grown piezoelectrics on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (mwCNT). Direct-grown piezoelectrics on mwCNTs are formed by a stirring and heating method using a Pb(Zr0.52 Ti0.48 )O3 (PZT)-mwCNT precursor solution. We studied the unit cell mismatch and strain distribution of epitaxial PZT nanoparticles, and found that lattice strain is relaxed along the growth direction. A PZT-mwCNT nanogenerator was found to produce a peak output voltage of 8.6 V and an output current of 47 nA when a force of 20 N is applied. Direct-grown piezoelectric nanogenerators generate a higher voltage and current than simple mixtures of PZT and CNTs resulting from the stronger connection between PZT crystals and mwCNTs and an enhanced flexoelectric effect caused by the strain gradient. These experiments represent a significant step toward the application of nanogenerators using piezoelectric nanocomposite materials.
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Neither ProQuest nor its licensors make any representations or warranties with respect to the translations. The translations are automatically generated "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" and are not retained in our systems. PROQUEST AND ITS LICENSORS SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTIES FOR AVAILABILITY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, COMPLETENESS, NON-INFRINGMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Your use of the translations is subject to all use restrictions contained in your Electronic Products License Agreement and by using the translation functionality you agree to forgo any and all claims against ProQuest or its licensors for your use of the translation functionality and any output derived there from. Hide full disclaimer