All‐Ceramic Flexible Piezoelectric Energy Harvester

With the rapid development of self-powered electronics such as wearables, implantable devices, and sensor networks, there is an increasing demand for power sources that have a high power density and a long lifespan to keep the entire system operational. Flexible piezoelectric materials with the capability of mechanical-to-electrical energy conversion have attracted significant interest because of their immense potential for harvesting human biomechanical energy. Herein, 3 mol.% yttrium stabilized zirconia ribbon ceramic is selected as a unique substrate to manufacture a large-scale and all-ceramic flexible Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O-3 piezoelectric energy harvester via the cost-effective one-step process. The flexible piezoelectric energy harvester delivers excellent performance with an open-circuit voltage of similar to 105 V and short-circuit current of similar to 0.58 mu A under mechanical strain equivalent to human movement. Moreover, the output voltage of a flexible piezoelectric energy harvester varies linearly with strain, allowing it a promising candidate as a self-powered strain sensor. Of particular importance is that a large-scale piezoelectric energy harvester (4 x 4 cm(2)) can simultaneously light up eight commercial light emitting diodes without any external power source and circuit. This research provides an innovative approach to the fabrication of high-performance and large-scale flexible piezoelectric energy harvesters as well as self-powered micromechanical devices.