2-Dimensional rGO introduced PMN-PT and P(VDF-TrFE) flexible films for enhanced piezoelectric energy harvester

Abstract

Piezoelectric materials have excellent piezoelectric and dielectric properties for versatile device applications. However, they have brittle properties, particularly under mechanical impulse force. As a result, there have been many attempts to improve their brittle properties by mixing in elastic materials. Here, for the first time, reduced graphene oxide (rGO) was introduced to the Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O-3-PbTiO3 (PMN-PT) and poly(vinylidene fluoridetrifluoroethylene) P(VDF-TrFE) polymer composite films, and showed the highest value of piezoelectric and energy density for flexible energy generation applications. rGO has conducting properties with 2-dimensional structure. This rGO can also be prepared through easy processing. 2-dimensional structured rGO serves as a floating electrode in PMN-PT/polymer composite flexible films. Therefore, a floating electrode can attract electrons in piezoelectric composite materials so as to enhance the energy generation properties. By introducing the rGO based floating electrodes into the PMN-PT and P(VDF-TrFE) composite, the generated output energy density was increased from 0.70 mJ/cm(3) to 1.2 mJ/cm(3). This the generated output energy density was the recorded outstanding value among the flexible composite films. In this paper, the effects of rGO on the properties of PMN-PT/polymer composites will be investigated and discussed.