Worm structure piezoelectric energy harvester using ionotropic gelation of barium titanate-calcium alginate composite

A laterally aligned flexible composite linear worm-based piezoelectric energy harvester made up of piezoelectric barium titanate nanoparticles and a three dimensional gel network of calcium alginate biopolymer was aimed to harness the low frequency mechanical energy. It is highly desirable to fabricate innovative micro/nanostructures for high performance energy harvesting beyond the conventional thin films, and small scale fabrication of nanowires (or rods). The open circuit voltage of a single composite worm-based energy harvester (diameter approximate to 550 mu m, length approximate to 2.5 cm) increases up to 5 times by increasing the frequency of mechanical load (11 N) from 3 to 20 Hz. Similarly, 1.5 times voltage increment was observed by increasing the length of the composite worm from 1.5 to 3.5 cm upon the biomechanical hand force. The energy harvester can function as an efficient portable/wearable self powered device due to its good flexibility, and multiple lengths of composite linear worms can be utilized to drive low-power electronic devices. In this work, the composite worms were prepared by an ionotropic gelation approach, which is eco-friendly, non-toxic, having low processing temperature/time, and potential for cost-effective, large-scale fabrication, making it suitable for low frequency based self-powered devices. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.