Evaluation of power generation potential of cellulose microfibrils and onion skin-based bio-piezoelectric nanogenerators

It is highly desirable for new nanosystems and nanodevices to be self-powered for applications in biomedical science, sensing, robotics and personal electronics. As new trends require these devices to be downsized and incorporated in remote and hard to reach locations the challenge to develop new technologies that allow autonomous, maintenance-free and continuous supply of energy is great. Over the last decade researchers have found ways to harness ambient energy from mechanical vibrations to develop self-powered devices. The present research reports the fabrication of two bio-piezoelectric generators using cellulose as biomaterial in two distinct configurations, as well as commonly used materials in a simple manufacturing process. Cellulose microfibrils, a disoriented structure, obtained from cotton wads was mixed with silicone to obtain an CMFPNG, while onion skin, a more oriented cellulose structure, was left untreated or naked to fabricate a NOSBPNG. The chemical and physical differences where evaluated using Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), the abundance of H-boding groups available in the onion skin structure present an interesting proposition for a high performance piezoelectric material, while the simpler an disoriented fashion on CMFs is less likely to perform equally. The self-orientation of PNG using onion skin without chemical treatment and no sputtering for the formation of the electrode generate an output voltage up until 3.26 V and store 0.395 V in a 4.7 μF capacitor, resulting in a power storage of 1.25 μJ, making it a viable material for the construction of smart devices such as PNG. CMFPNG results were not conclusive, hence it is suggested the present methods are not the adequate for this material. However important factors to consider are presented for future research. Nevertheless the results of NOSBPNG support the use of onion skin as a self-oriented waste material for the construction of new smart bio-materials.

• Autores: Botín Sanabria, Juan Camilo
• Fecha de publicación: 2019
• Institución: Universidad EAFIT
• Repositorio: Repositorio EAFIT
• Idioma: spa
• OAI Identifier: oai:repository.eafit.edu.co:10784/15894
• Acceso en línea: http://hdl.handle.net/10784/15894
• Palabra clave: Microfibra; Biopiezas; Biomaterial; Microfibrillas; Piel de cebolla; Espectroscopio; INDUSTRIA DE PRODUCTOS VEGETALES; CELULOSA; INDUSTRIA DE LA CELULOSA; FIBRA DE RESIDUO DE ALGODÓN
• License: Acceso abierto