Energy Harvesting Using Galvanically Synthesized Piezoelectric ZnO Nanorods on Flexible Polymer Film

This paper reports advancement in bringing flexible piezoelectric nanogenerators (NGs) closer to being realized in a commercial market. We have adopted a method to synthesize piezoelectric ZnO nanorods (NRs) on any electrically conductive surface without a seed layer or a specially selected substrate with matching lattice spacing. By contacting a metal with a dissimilar electro-negativity, a galvanic cell is created in the electrolyte growth medium. We have demonstrated the performance of the as grown NRs on a thin NG using common PET film. The device produced voltages in excess of three times higher than a parallel fabricated reference sample under bending loads.