Development of Functional Materials for Energy Harvesting Devices

Abstract

The need for new materials with enhanced functionality, structural stability, and energy conversion efficiency has increased due to the growing need for renewable energy solutions. Functional energy materials because of their large surface area, adjustable porosity, find their versatility in various applications, such as sensors, energy storage, and energy harvesting devices. The thesis work will explore and optimize the importance of the development of advanced functional material on energy harvesting devices, i.e., triboelectric nanogenerator (TENGs) to address the increasing demands of efficient and sustainable renewable energy sources. The research lies in the synthesis of Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-67 (ZIF-67), Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF), and Sodium Niobate (NaNbO3) materials owing to their large surface area, controllable porosity, and sturdiness to facilitate energy conversion performance. Such materials were reduced to form thin films by careful manufacturing methods, e.g. electrohydrodynamic (EHD) spray deposition, drop casting, etc. and inserted within TENG devices with aluminum and copper electrodes to maximize charge transfer and surface functionality. To explore the materials structural, optical, and electrical properties, UV-Vis spectroscopy, FTIR, SEM, and I-V measurements were performed in order to achieve thorough characterization of the materials as they would be used in energy applications. Tests determined that performance of TENGs with these functional materials were much greater than those of a baseline as the NaNbO3 -PVDF system showed an outstanding power generation owing to its piezoelectric and ferroelectric characteristics. Nevertheless, compatibility issues of the material were found at ZIF-67/NaNbO3 composite, which supports the idea of making a strategic selection of material. These results suggest the opportunities of custom functional materials to instruct energy harvesting technologies, which can provide scalable and sustainable energy supply of flexible electronics, sensing and energy storage.