Fabrication of PAN/ZnO Nanofibers by Electrospinning as Piezoelectric Nanogenerator

Abstract

Piezoelectric nanogenerator is a material that is used for converting mechanical energy to electrical energy. This research aimed to study the piezoelectric nanogenerator properties in PAN/ZnO nanofibers layered on the stainless-steel substrate. ZnO nanoparticles that were used in this work were synthesized by coprecipitation method. The ZnO nanoparticles were mixed with PAN dissolved with DMF. Fabrication of PAN-ZnO nanofibers was done using the electrospinning method on the stainless-steel substrate. The formed PAN/ZnO nanofibers were then characterized using XRD, SEM, and FTIR. To test the piezoelectric nanogenerator properties, PAN/ZnO nanofibers were combined to PAN nanofibers and coated on the stainless-steel substrate to form piezoelectric nanogenerator device. This device was then connected to an electrometer and an oscilloscope to measure the current and voltage resulted after bending. The results of XRD of ZnO nanoparticles had the wurtzite crystal structure with the size of about 46 nm. Meanwhile, the PAN/ZnO had an amorphous structure. The test results of piezoelectric nanogenerator properties showed the value of voltage and current of 7.22 V and 47.48 μA, respectively. PAN/ZnO nanofibers on the stainless-steel substrate are potential to be the material of piezoelectric nanogenerators in general.