Energy harvesting devices

Fig. 3.5 Notional dielectric elastomer devices that can harvest human kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is available from vertical motion and from the negative work done at the ankles, knees, and hips. Energy harvesting devices can be strategically located in equipage to selectively harvest this energy in order to provide power to electronic systems. This arrangement will not hamper mobility and should actually reduce fatigue. [Source adapted from Infoscitex Corp. and SRI International]...

Flexible Energy Harvesting Devices Based on Polymers... 

In summary, a variety of flexible energy harvesting devices including solar cells and piezoelectric devices have been developed to meet the requirement of next-generation portable or wearable devices. However, the power conversion efficiencies of electronic devices were largely limited by the high electrical resistance of flexible electrodes based on polymer substrates. Therefore, more efforts are required to develop new flexible electrodes with higher electrical conductivities. 

Electrospinning technique has been used not only for the deposition of polymeric nanofibres but also for the production of ceramic nanofibres of PZT. PZT is commonly used in micro- and macro-scale piezoelectric energy harvesting devices due to its high electro-mechanical coupling coefficient of -500-600pC ) as compared... 

Swallow et al. (2008) have reported the formation of a piezoelectric fibre composite-based energy harvesting device intended to be used as a glove for tremor suppression. They have investigated the use of both PVDF and PZT in fibre composites for the production of electrical outputs. The piezoelectric fibre composite containing PZT produced a power output of 11 pW, compared to the power output of 0.3 pW of the PVDF material alone. 

ZnO nanocrystals demonstrate strong polarization, see Fig. 16.11 [105], which ensures nano-ZnO a material with dilute magnetism and catalytic active. Meanwhile, nano-ZnO exhibits piezoelectricity, which has been used for energy harvesting devices. Fig. 20.10 illustrates the fiber nanogenerator of electricity by... 

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