Enhancing Output Voltage of Piezoelectric-Based Nanogenerators Using Zinc Oxide Material Codoped with Aluminum and Cobalt

The cobalt and aluminum codoped into zinc oxide (ZnO) crystals are studied for enhancing the output voltage of piezoelectric-based nanogenerators (PENGs). The nanogenerators were simply fabricated from ZnO nanofibers (NFs) synthesized by electrospinning machine. The electrospinning processes were conducted at a flow rate of 4 μL/min and at various sintering temperature of 450, 500, 550, and 600°C. The results show that the highest output voltage of PENGs was obtained at a sintering temperature of 500°C, i.e. 127 mV. Therefore, PENGs fabricated from ZnO NFs codoped with aluminum and cobalt are challenging for the next generation of self-powered devices. The output voltage of PENGs at sintering temperatures of 450°C, 550°C, and 600°C are 75 mV, 105 mV, and 85 mV, respectively. The PENGs which fabricated from ZnO NFs was codoped with aluminum and cobalt will generate high output voltage, and are interesting candidates for exploiting in self-power devices. (paper)