Tb-doped ZnO:PDMS based flexible nanogenerator with enhanced piezoelectric output performance by optimizing nanofiller concentration

• DOI: 10.1016/j.ceramint.2020.06.191
• Publication Date: 2020-06-18T01:38:19Z
• Authors: Kriti Batra; Nidhi Sinha; Binay Kumar
• Keywords: Nanogenerator; Nanorod

Abstract Zinc oxide (ZnO) is one of the most prospective material for optoelectronic, piezoelectric, spintronic and gas sensing applications. Doping rare-earth elements in ZnO leads to significant enhancement in its electrical properties. Herein, pure and Tb-doped ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized via chemical co-precipitation method and their structural, morphological and electrical properties were systematically studied. As a result of Tb-doping, hexagonal shaped ZnO nanorods converted to taper-like nanoparticles. Tb–ZnO nanoparticles exhibited high Curie temperature (Tc ~ 225 °C) and enhanced dielectric properties as compared to pure ZnO nanoparticles. Electrical conduction studies revealed a significant reduction in the leakage current as a result of Tb-doping. Piezoelectric nanogenerators based on synthesized nanoparticles were fabricated and piezoelectric output voltage of the Tb-doped ZnO based nanogenerator was measured to be remarkably enhanced (by up to ~ 4 times) compared to pure ZnO based nanogenerator. These results indicate Tb–ZnO:PDMS composite films on flexible substrates could be promising candidate for energy harvesting application.