A Flexible PMN-PT Ribbon-Based Piezoelectric-Pyroelectric Hybrid Generator for Human-Activity Energy Harvesting and Monitoring

The rapid advancements of wearable electronics require continued innovation in sustainable power sources and human interactive sensors. An abundance of energy in various forms, such as mechanical, thermal, optical, and sound, are ubiquitous in the environment and human activities. Hybrid generators using piezoelectric polymers with relatively low piezoelectric and pyroelectric constants have been fabricated to simultaneously scavenge mechanical and thermal energies. In this work, micropatterned single-crystal (1-x)Pb(Mg,Nb)O-3-xPbTiO(3) (PMN-PT) ribbons, which possess excellent piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties, are utilized to build human activities energy harvesting and monitoring systems. The flexible PMN-PT ribbon-based sensor conformally attached on the surface of human skin enables high sensitivity for human body motions and can detect acoustic sounds precisely. The sensor has been used for monitoring temperature-related activities, caused for instance by warm water flow and even light illumination. The multifunctional performance of the PMN-PT ribbon-based hybrid generator shows great potential for self-powered wearable and human activities monitoring devices.