Nano Energy (2014) 10, 44–52

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/nanoenergy

RAPID COMMUNICATION

PVDF mesoporous nanostructures

as the piezo-separator for
a self-charging power cell
Lili Xinga, Yuxin Niea, Xinyu Xuea,b,n, Yan Zhangb,c,nn

a
College of Sciences, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110004, China
b
Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100000, China
c
Institute of Theoretical Physics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China

Received 29 July 2014; received in revised form 31 August 2014; accepted 3 September 2014
Available online 16 September 2014

KEYWORDS Abstract
PVDF; PVDF mesoporous nanostructured film has been used as the piezo-separator for a piezo-driven
Mesoporous; self-charging power cell (SCPC). The SCPC can be efficiently and stably charged up by
Self-charging; mechanical deformation. The geometrical strain confinement effect and the mesoporous
Cell; structure result in high energy conversion/storage efficiency and high stability.
Piezoelectric
& 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Introduction energy from the environment to power the functional micro/

With the rapid development of portable and personal electro-
nics, such as laptop computers and mobile phones, seeking of
portable, small-size and sustainable power sources for driving
these functional devices is becoming increasingly important. In
the past several years, self-powered system that integrates
energy generators has been proposed [1–5], aiming at harvesting
n
Corresponding author at: College of Sciences, Northeastern
University, Shenyang 110004, China. Tel.: +86 024 83687658.
nn
Corresponding author at: Institute of Theoretical Physics,
Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China.
E-mail addresses: xuexinyu@mail.neu.edu.cn (X. Xue),
yzhang@binn.cas.cn (Y. Zhang).
nano-systems, such as strain sensors, gas sensors, magnetic
sensors, UV sensors, liquid crystal displays, wind velocity
detectors, automobile speedometers, etc [6–13]. Energy con-
version and energy storage technologies are the two most
significant techniques for the new sustainable power source in
the self-powered systems [14–16]. Usually, they are two inde-
pendent processes completed by different devices, such as
piezoelectric nanogenerator and lithium ion battery [4,17–21].
Recently, we have demonstrated a new fundamental mechan-
ism that directly hybridizes energy conversion and storage
processes into one step, through which the mechanical energy
is directly converted and simultaneously stored as electro-
chemical energy without any intermediate processes [22]. A
mechanical-to-electrochemical self-charging power cell (SCPC)
has been fabricated using a piezo-separator (PVDF film) to

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2014.09.004
2211-2855/& 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
PVDF mesoporous nanostructures as the piezo-separator
replace the traditional separator of lithium ion battery, and
such a SCPC can be charged up by the mechanical deformation.
When SCPC is under a compressive strain, a piezoelectric field is
created across the PVDF film [23–25], and this piezoelectric field
can drive lithium ions migrating through PVDF to anode
accompanying reacting with anode material [22]. After the first
SCPC design, the next important step is the improvement of
SCPC performance for practical application [26,27]. By con-
sidering the fact that the piezo-electrochemical process is
mainly generated by the piezo-separator, controlling the physi-
cal properties of piezo-separator is a key direction for the opti-
mization of SCPC performance.
In this work, we firstly demonstrate that porous structure of
PVDF separator can facilitate the transportation of Li + ,
resulting in higher energy conversion/storage efficiency com-
pared with our previous report. The mesoporous PVDF piezo-
separator is synthesized by using ZnO nanowire (NW) arrays as
template. Polarized under an electric field of 20 kV mm
1 in
silicone oil at 80 1C for 30 min, the PVDF mesoporous nanos-
tructured film has a considerable piezoelectric output 2.84 V
and high ionic conductivity for the migration of Li ions. The
SCPC using PVDF mesoporous nanostructured film as piezo-
separator has high energy conversion/storage efficiency and
high stability. Such a good performance can be attributed to
the geometrical strain confinement effect and the mesoporous
structure of the PVDF piezo-separator. The present results
firstly point out a feasible way for enhancing the performance
of the device that is facilitating the migration of lithium ions.
Also, the present data have further confirmed the self-charging
mechanism, in which the piezo-electrochemical reactions are
driven by the migration of lithium ions.
Experimental section
Large-area mesoporous PVDF nanostructured film is synthe-
sized by a very simple and low-cost method, which can be
easily extended to the industrial production. The PVDF
mesoporous nanostructured film is synthesized by using
ZnO NW arrays as template [28,29], as schematically shown
in Figure 1. A precleaned silicon wafer is used as the
substrate (Figure 1a), and ZnO seeds are deposited on this
silicon wafer by a wet-chemical method (Figure 1b). Zinc
acetate dehydrate (Zn(CH3COO)2  2H2O) was dissolved in
ethanol with a concentration of 10 mM. A droplet of solution
was dropped on a precleaned Si wafer. After drying at 60 1C,
the Si wafer was annealed at 350 1C for 20 min in air to yield
a layer of ZnO seeds. These ZnO seeds serve as the basis, on
which vertically-aligned ZnO NW arrays are grown via a
hydrothermal route (Figure 1c). ZnO NW arrays were
synthesized in 200 mL of equimolar (50 mM) aqueous solu-
tion of Zn(NO3)2  6H2O and HMTA in a reaction flask at 90 1C.
The Si wafer was immersed into the aqueous solution. After
2 h, the substrate was removed from the solution, rinsed
with deionized water and dried at room temperature.
To obtain a PVDF mesoporous nanostructured film, 0.2 mL
PVDF gel (1.5 g of PVDF in 15 mL of acetone/DMF solvent with
the volume ratio of 6:4) was spin-coated on the ZnO NW arrays
template, and dried at 50 1C for 4 h (Figure 1d). After
completely drying, the ZnO NW arrays template was etched
by diluted hydrochloric acid, and PVDF mesoporous nanostruc-
tured film is finally obtained (Figure 1e). In order to align the
45
Figure 1 Fabrication process of PVDF mesoporous nanostruc-
tured film using ZnO NW arrays as template, and the structure
of the integrated SCPC. (a) A precleaned silicon wafer is used as
the substrate. (b) ZnO seeds are deposited on silicon wafer.
(c) Vertically-aligned ZnO NW arrays are grown on silicon wafer.
(d) PVDF gel is spin coated on ZnO NW arrays. (e) ZnO NW arrays
are removed by etching and PVDF mesoporous nanostru-
ctured film is obtained. (f) Schematic image showing the
polarizing process of PVDF mesoporous nanostructured film.
(g) The optical image of PVDF mesoporous nanostructured
film. (h) Schematic image showing the structure of the
integrated SCPC.
electric dipoles within the PVDF mesoporous nanostructured
film, the obtained PVDF mesoporous nanostructured film is
polarized for 30 min under an electric field of 20 kV mm
1 in
silicone oil at 80 1C to align the electric dipoles within it
(Figure 1f) [28]. Usually, mechanical stretching is required for
high piezo activity of PVDF. In this work, we give up mechanical
stretching for PVDF film in order to exclude the interference of
other factors, and mainly focus on the effect of mesoporous
nanostructures on the performance. In the next future, the
mechanical stretching process could be introduced for the
practical applications. The optical image of a well polarized
PVDF mesoporous nanostructured film is shown in Figure 1g.
The final device structure of the integrated SCPC is shown
in Figure 1h, which is assembled in a vacuum glove box. The
SCPC is composed of three major components: anode (gra-
phite:conductive carbon:binder mixtures with a weight ratio
of 8:1:1, pasted on copper foil), piezo-separator (the well
polarized PVDF mesoporous nanostructured film) and cathode
(LiCoO2:conductive carbon:binder mixtures with a weight
ratio of 8:1:1, pasted on aluminum foil) are sealed in
stainless-steel 2016-coin-type cell completely filled with
liquid electrolyte (1 M LiPF6 in 1:1 ethylene carbonate:
dimethyl carbonate). LiCoO2 and graphite have been con-
firmed as excellent cathode/anode materials for commercial
lithium-ion batteries due to their extremely high cycling
performance [30,31]. Thus LiCoO2 and graphite with high
stability are very suitable for demonstrating this SCPC with
46
new piezo-seperator. The voltage of the SCPC under applying
compressive deformation is monitored by BST-TC53 battery
measurement system (MTI Company, China).
Results and discussion
The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of ZnO NW
arrays and PVDF mesoporous nanostructured film are shown
in Figure 2. Figure 2a is a typical SEM image of ZnO NW
arrays grown on the Si wafer in the top view. It can be seen
that the ZnO NW arrays are vertically aligned on the Si
Wafer and their diameters range from 300 nm to 1 μm. In
addition, among the ZnO NW array there is sufficient space
for PVDF gel to penetrate in. Figure 2b is a typical SEM
image of ZnO NW arrays in the side view, showing that ZnO
NW arrays have good uniformity in height. Figure 2c is a
typical SEM image of PVDF film after removing ZnO NW
arrays in the top view. It can be clearly observed that
numerous meso-pores are uniformly distributed on the
surface of the PVDF film. A selected area is enlarged in
the inset of Figure 2c, and the meso-pores have the same
hexagonal shape as ZnO nanowires (NWs). The average
diameter of the meso-pores is slightly larger than that of
ZnO NWs, which can be attributed to the contraction of
PVDF during the solidification process. The detailed micro-
structure of the PVDF film is shown in Figure S1, confirming
the mesoporous structure of the PVDF film. And the
diameters of the pores are mainly 700–900 nm with high
uniformity. Figure 2d is a SEM image of PVDF mesoporous
nanostructured film in the side view, showing that the
thickness is several micrometers. The paths for the migra-
tion of ions can be clearly observed.
Figure 2 (a) SEM image of ZnO NW arrays grown on silicon wafer in a top view. (b) SEM image of ZnO NW arrays in a cross-sectional
view. (c) SEM image of PVDF mesoporous nanostructured film in a top view. The inset is an enlarged view of the selected area.
(d) SEM image of PVDF mesoporous nanostructured film in a cross-sectional view.
L. Xing et al.
To explore the influence of the meso-pores on the piezo-
electric output, the piezoelectric measurements are performed
on PVDF mesoporous nanostructured film and quasi-bulk PVDF
film (synthesized without using ZnO NW array template) under
the same conditions. Both the two samples are well polarized
under the same conditions and sealed in 2016-coin-type cells
without injecting electrolyte. Under the same compressive
stress (34 N), the output voltage of PVDF mesoporous nanos-
tructured film is higher than that of quasi-bulk PVDF film, as
shown in Figure 3a and b. As shown in Figure 3a, the output
voltage of PVDF mesoporous nanostructured film with the
thickness of 2.7 μm is 2.84 V. The electric field created by the
piezo PVDF can be calculated to be 1.05  106 V/m. Such an
enhanced piezoelectric effect of PVDF mesoporous nanostruc-
tured film can be attributed to the geometrical strain confine-
ment effect [25]. It has been demonstrated that the stress
applied on PVDF film causes strain not only in the stress
direction but also in the orthogonal direction. And if the size
in the orthogonal direction of the PVDF film is reduced, strain
becomes more effectively confined to the axial direction. It is
obvious that the pores in PVDF mesoporous nanostructured film
can effectively reduce the strain on orthogonal direction. And
the more pores in the PVDF mesoporous nanostructured film is,
the more effective the strain is confined to the axial direction.
Thus PVDF mesoporous nanostructured film has an enhanced
piezoelectric output than quasi-bulk PVDF film, as schematically
shown in Figure 3c and d.
To prove that the electric field created by PVDF film is
sufficient for lithium ion migration, the SCPC is separated
into two individual units: a PVDF mesoporous nanostruc-
tured film piezoelectric generator sealed in 2016-coin-type
cells and a Li-ion battery fabricated from polyethylene (PE)
separator, LiCoO2 cathode and graphite anode. The Li-ion
battery is charged by the piezoelectric generator though a
PVDF mesoporous nanostructures as the piezo-separator 47

Figure 3 (a) The piezoelectric output of PVDF mesoporous nanostructured film after well polarization under a 34 N compressive
stress. (b) The piezoelectric output of quasi-bulk PVDF film synthesized without using ZnO NW array template. (c) Schematic
illustration of the enhanced piezoelectric effect of PVDF mesoporous nanostructured film arising from geometrical strain
confinement effect. (d) Schematic illustration of the piezoelectric effect of quasi-bulk PVDF film synthesized without using ZnO
NW array template.

obtained by referring the touch point at the X-axis [35]. It can

Figure 4 Electrochemical impedance spectra of PVDF meso-
porous nanostructured film and quasi-bulk PVDF film.
bridge rectifier. As shown in Figure S2, the battery can be
charged by the separated PVDF generator.
The ionic conductivity of Li ions is a very important
parameter for the piezo-separator of SCPC [32–34], because
the piezoelectric field drives lithium ions migrating through
the piezo-separator. The ionic conductivity of PVDF mesopor-
ous nanostructured film and quasi-bulk PVDF film with the
same size are investigated by AC impedance method at room
temperature. And the electrolyte is 1M LiPF6 in 1:1 ethylene
carbonate:dimethyl carbonate. The test results are shown in
Figure 4. The resistance values of two kinds of PVDF films are
be seen that PVDF mesoporous nanostructured film has higher
ionic conductivity than quasi-bulk PVDF film due to the larger
amount of pores in it. The mesoporous nanostructures on the
Li-ion battery separator can improve the conductivity of the
separator because the meso-pores can act as paths for Li ions
to transport through the separator. Besides, compared with
quasi-bulk PVDF film, the mesoporous PVDF nanostructures
film has higher intake of the electrolyte solution [36,37]. High
ionic can greatly facilitate the migration of lithium ions and
improve the performance of SCPC, which could be an
important direction for the future development of SCPC.
Figure 5a is a typical self-charging process under periodic
compressive stress and the constant-current discharge process
of the SCPC. The PVDF mesoporous nanostructured film polar-
ized under an electric field of 20 kV mm
1 in silicone oil at
80 1C for 30 min has a considerable piezoelectric output 2.84 V
(under 34 N applied force), and the piezoelectric field gener-
ated by the compressive stress points from cathode to anode.
The electrolyte is 1 M LiPF6 in 1:1 ethylene carbonate:dimethyl
carbonate. The voltage of the SCPC increases from 160 mV to
299 mV within 250 s when the device is under a compressive
force of 34 N and 1.8 Hz. After the self-charging process, the
device is constant-current discharged back to its original
voltage during 207 s under a discharge current of 3 μA. The
stored capacity of the SCPC is about 0.173 μAh. Figure 5b is the
response of a SCPC fabricated using PVDF mesoporous nanos-
tructured film with the opposite polarization as the separator.
The voltage decreases from 193 mV to 8 mV under a compres-
sive strain of 34 N and 1 Hz during 800 s. As the piezoelectric
48 L. Xing et al.

Figure 5 (a) A typical self-charging process under periodic compressive stress and the corresponding discharge process of a SCPC
fabricated using PVDF mesoporous nanostructured film as piezo-separator. (b) Response of a SCPC fabricated using PVDF mesoporous
nanostructured film with the opposite polarization as separator. (c) Self-charging and discharge cycles of the SCPC under a
compressive force with constant magnitude and frequency. (d) Self-charging and discharge cycles of a SCPC fabricated using quasi-
bulk PVDF film under a compressive force with constant magnitude and frequency. (e) Cycling performance of the SCPC fabricated
using PVDF mesoporous nanostructured film as piezo-separator under a compressive force with constant magnitude and frequency.
(f) The long-time self-charging process of a SCPC. (g) The high-voltage self-charging process of a SCPC around the electrochemical
plateau ( 3.6 V).
PVDF mesoporous nanostructures as the piezo-separator
polarization of PVDF film is reversed, the piezoelectric field
generated by the compressive stress points from anode to
cathode, and the electrochemical process in the SCPC is
reversed. As shown in Figure S3, the magnitude and frequency
of the compressive force can also affect the self-charging
process. As the applied force is 34, 30, 26 and 22 N at 1.8 Hz,
within 250 s, the SCPC is charged from 160 mV to 298, 279, 251
and 238 mV, respectively. As the applied force is 34 N at 1.8,
1.0, 0.7 and 0.5 Hz, within 250 s, the SCPC is charged
from 160 mV to 301, 285, 267 and 254 mV, respectively. The
difference of the energy conversion/storage efficiency of the
SCPCs fabricated using mesoporous PVDF and quasi-bulk PVDF
as piezo-separators is shown in Figure 5c and d. The voltage of
the SCPC fabricated using mesoporous PVDF as piezo-separator
increases from 160 to 300 mV under periodic compressive stress
within 250 s. Under the same conditions, the voltage of the
SCPC fabricated using quasi-bulk PVDF as piezo-separator
increases merely from 160 to 198 mV. Compared with prototype
of SCPC, higher energy conversion/storage efficiency has been
obtained by using mesoporous PVDF piezo-separator. It should
also be noted that the stability of the SCPC using mesopo-
rous PVDF as piezo-separator is extremely high. As shown in
Figure 5e, during 50 cycles, as the force and the frequency are
both constant, the rate at which the voltage is increased and
the discharge capacity keeps the same. This experimental
result confirms the mechanical and electrochemical durability
of the energy conversion and storage system. The long-time
self-charging process of a SCPC is shown in Figure 5f. After the
device being under a compressive force (34 N, 1.8 Hz) for 4 h,
the voltage of the device increases from 180 mV to 593 mV. The
stored capacity of the SCPC is about 3.4 μAh (the discharge
current is 3 μA). In order to confirm that the SCPC can be
charged around the electrochemical plateau, the high-voltage
self-charging process of a SCPC is tested, as shown in Figure 5g.
Before the test, the device is charged to 3.55 V by the battery
measurement system. As the compressive force (70 N, 1.8 Hz) is
applied on the SCPC for 4 h, the voltage of the SCPC increases
from 3.55 V to 3.62 V (the electrochemical plateau is  3.6 V)
[38,39]. The stored capacity of the SCPC is about 4.5 μAh (the
discharge current is 3 μA). The mesoporous structures not only
create higher piezoelectric potential due to the geometrical
strain confinement effect, but also improve the ionic conduc-
tivity for the migration of lithium ions. Such high efficiency and
stability can facilitate the applications of PVDF mesoporous
nanostructured film as the piezo-separator of SCPCs. Such a far-
exceeded performance of the mesoporous piezo-seperator can
provoke an important direction for the future development of
SCPC. The low cost, facile synthesis, large area, high stability of
the new mesoporous piezo-seperator can facilitate the practical
applications of SCPC at industrial level. To further enhance the
performance of the piezo-separator, much work needs to be
done on designing new material system. For example, based on
the previous report, the flexible nanocomposite film made of
PVDF and BaTiO3 nanoparticles could be good candidates for
the next generation of piezo-seperator with higher piezoelec-
tric output [3].
The working mechanism of the SCPC is an electrochemical
process driven by the piezoelectric potential created by the
deformation of mesoporous PVDF, as shown in Figure 6. At
the very beginning, as shown in Figure 6a, LiCoO2 acts as the
cathode; graphite acts as the anode; well-polarized PVDF
mesoporous nanostructured film serves as the separator; and
49
electrolyte is evenly distributed in the entire space. The SCPC
is in the discharged state. When compressive stress is applied
on the SCPC, as shown in Figure 6b, a piezoelectric field with a
direction pointing from the cathode to the anode is created
in the well-polarized mesoporous PVDF piezo-separator. As
shown in Figure 6c, Li ions are driven by the piezoelectric field,
and migrate from cathode to anode in the electrolyte through
the ionic conduction pores in the PVDF film [40]. The migration
of Li ions trigger the reversible reaction at the cathode
(LiCoO22Li1
xCoO2 +xLi + +xe
) to move to the right direc-
tion [41,42], and the reversible reaction at the anode
(yC+xLi + +xe
2LixCy) to move the right direction [43,44].
During this process, Li ions continuously migrate from the
cathode to the anode and the device is charged bit by bit until
the distribution of the Li ions can balance the piezoelectric
field in the PVDF film as shown in Figure 6d. During the
progress of charging electrochemical reactions at the two
electrodes, extra free electrons will transfer from the cathode
to the anode, in order to maintain the charge neutrality and
the continuity of the charging reaction. Generally, there are
two ways for the electrons to transfer: either through the
external circuitry or inside the battery system. In Wang's
previous work, it has been proved that the electrons do not
transfer through the leakage of the external circuitry [22]. The
electrons probably move inside the battery system during the
self-charging process. Many literatures confirm that the leak-
age of electrons inside the battery exists [45–47]. For example,
the self-discharging phenomena usually present in all the
batteries. In the system of SCPC, several possible leakage
mechanisms, such as the resistive leakage of electrons due to
the actual finite resistance of electrolyte, and some side redox
reactions with the participation of electrolyte, which can
transfer the electrons indirectly from one electrode to another,
may occurs [48–50]. In future, more work needs to be done on
study the exact process of the electron transportation. After
the applied stress is released, the piezoelectric field disappears
and Li ions reach an even distribution with a portion of them
diffuse back to the cathode as shown in Figure 6e. A cycle of
self-charging is completed, and a small amount of LiCoO2 is
oxidized to Li1
xCoO2 and a small amount of graphite is
reduced to LixCy as shown in Figure 6f. Thus mechanical energy
is converted and stored as electrochemical energy in SCPC. In
this self-charging process, piezo-separator plays a vital role. As
discussed above, the piezoelectric field and ionic conductivity
can be greatly improved by the mesoporous structures. The
migration of Li ions can be enhanced, leading to the experi-
mental high efficiency and stability, further confirming that the
piezo-electrochemical reactions are driven by the migration of
lithium ions.
This self-charging mechanism can also be explained by
thermodynamics. According to Nernst's theory, the relation-
ships between the relative electrode potentials of the two
electrodes and Li + concentration are as follows:


RT 1
φ Li1
x CoO2 =LiCoO2 ¼ φ0 Li1
x CoO2 =Lix CoO2
ln 
x
T ac Li þ


RT ð1Þ
1
φ C=Lix C6 ¼ φ0 C=Lix C6
ln 
x ð2Þ
T aa Li þ
In these formulas, φ(Li1
xCoO2/LiCoO2) and φ(C/LixC6) are
actual electrode potentials of the cathode and anode,
50 L. Xing et al.

Figure 6 The working mechanism of the SCPC driven by compressive stress. (a) Schematic illustration of the SCPC in discharged
state with LiCoO2 as cathode, graphite as anode, well-polarized PVDF mesoporous nanostructured film as separator. (b) When a
compressive stress is applied onto the device, the mesoporous PVDF piezo-separator creates a piezoelectric field with the positive
piezopotential at the cathode side and negative piezopotential at the anode. (c) Under the driving of the piezoelectric field, Li ions
from the cathode will migrate through the mesoporous PVDF separator in the electrolyte to the anode, leading to the corresponding
charging reactions at the two electrodes. (d) The distribution of the Li ions can balance the piezoelectric field in the PVDF film
(e) After the applied stress is released, the piezoelectric field disappears and Li ions reach an even distribution with a portion of
them diffuse back to the cathode (f) and a cycle of self-charging is completed, resulting in oxidizing a small amount of LiCoO2 at the
cathode to Li1
xCoO2 and reducing a bit of graphite to LixCy at the anode.

φ0(Li1
xCoO2/LixCoO2) and φ0(C/LixC6) are standard electrode
potentials of these two electrodes, and ac(Li + ) and aa(Li + ) are
the activities of Li + around the cathode and anode, respec-
tively, which can be approximately equal to the concentra-
tions. And R is the gas constant, T is the temperature, and F is
the Faraday constant in these formulas. So, when the SCPC
is under the driving of piezoelectric field, Li + migrate from
the cathode to anode. This process can result that the
concentration of Li + near the positive electrode decrea-
ses and the electrode potential φ(Li1
xCoO2/LiCoO2) will
decrease; likewise, the increase of Li + concentration will
result in an increase of φ(C/LixC6) at the negative electrode.
For conventional lithium ion battery, the electrode potential φ
(Li1
xCoO2/LiCoO2) is larger than φ(C/LixC6), so that the
PVDF mesoporous nanostructures as the piezo-separator
battery can discharge spontaneously through the reduction of
Li1
xCoO2 and oxidization of LixC6. However, for the self-
charging process, because the change of Li + concentration
will possibly make φ(C/LixC6) larger than φ(Li1
xCoO2/
LiCoO2), the device is self-charged through the reduction of
C and oxidization of LiCoO2. It should be noted that more
future work need to be done on clarifying this new piezo-
electrochemical process, such as in situ XRD observation on
the electrodes.
Conclusions
In summary, PVDF mesoporous nanostructured film was
synthesized using ZnO NW arrays as template. The SCPC
fabricated using PVDF mesoporous nanostructured film as
piezo-separator could be efficiently and stably charged up
by the mechanical deformation. The geometrical strain
confinement effect and the mesoporous structure of PVDF
piezo-separator resulted in high efficiency and stability.
Such a development of mesoporous PVDF piezo-separator
could stimulate a research trend on designing new material
system for high-performance SCPC. In the future, more
work needs to be done on clarifying this new piezo-electro-
chemical process, such as in situ XRD observation on the
electrodes.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Natural Science
Foundation of China (51102041 and 11104025), the Fundamen-
tal Research Funds for the Central Universities (N120205001 and
N120405010), and Program for New Century Excellent Talents in
University (NCET-13–0112).
Appendix A. Supporting information
Supplementary data associated with this article can be
found in the online version at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
j.nanoen.2014.09.004.
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Lili Xing is an Associate Professor at College
of Sciences, Northeastern University, She-
nyang, China. She mainly focuses on the
synthesis of metal oxide nanostructures.
Yuxin Nie is currently studying for the master
degree in the College of Sciences, North-
eastern University, China. Now his research
interests focus on the nanostructured materi-
als for piezoelectric nanogenerators.
L. Xing et al.
Xinyu Xue is a Professor at College of
Sciences, Northeastern University, She-
nyang, China. He is also a visiting professor
in Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nano-
systems, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Beijing, China. Currently he is working on
the next generation of sensors and bat-
teries, such as self-powered active sensors
and self-charging lithium battery.
Yan Zhang is a Professor of Institute of
Theoretical Physics in Lanzhou University,
Lanzhou, China. He is also a research faculty
in Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nano-
systems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beij-
ing, China. His main research interest and
activities are: self-powered nano/micro sys-
tem, theory of piezotronic, dynamics of time-
delay systems and complex networks.