A New Perspective on Energy Harvesting Nanowires: The Role of Chemistry and Structure of Nanowires

Michigan Technological University, Houghton MI

Investigators

Abstract

The development of self-powered electronic devices is of great interest to worldwide researchers and high-tech industries. Recent investigations show that zinc oxide nanowires can function as energy harvesting modules to power nano/micro-scale devices. These nanowires are able to convert the mechanical energy to electrical output due to their semiconductor and piezoelectric properties. Currently, the underlying nanoscale mechanisms by which chemical composition and structural features in ZnO nanowires affect the output electrical signal are unknown. The proposed research aims to fill this gap. The electrical and mechanical coupling of ZnO wires will be studied by straining the nanowires using a novel force and electrical measurement system (AFM/STM) inside the transmission electron microscope (TEM) where the microstructure of ZnO nanowires can be simultaneously monitored in high resolution. The new understanding on this phenomenon is not limited to ZnO nanotubes, and can be extended to other energy harvesting materials. The proposed research has the potential to convert mechanical motion energy (such as body motion, muscle stretching, blood pressure), vibration energy (such as acoustic/ultrasonic wave), and hydraulic energy (such as flow of body fluids including blood and contraction of blood vessels) into electric energy. This means that electronic devices such as pacemakers or laptops can be powered up without the need to recharge their batteries. A week-long demonstration of energy harvesting experiments in TEM has been planned to impact under-represented minority and economically-disadvantaged K-12 students in the state of Michigan. The research results will be used as a case study in a new technical course, which the PI has developed to bring senior undergraduate and graduate students from electrical engineering, materials science, physics, chemistry, and mechanical engineering into the classroom. The videos of microscopy experiments will also be made available to the community via the World Wide Web.