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Re-usable self-poled piezoelectric/piezocatalytic films with exceptional energy harvesting and water remediation capability

Bagchi, B; Hoque, NA; Janowicz, N; Das, S; Tiwari, MK; (2020) Re-usable self-poled piezoelectric/piezocatalytic films with exceptional energy harvesting and water remediation capability. Nano Energy 10.1016/j.nanoen.2020.105339. (In press). Green open access

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Abstract

The need for sustainable technologies to address environmental pollution and energy crisis is paramount. Here we present a novel multifunctional nanocomposite, free standing films by combining piezoelectric molybdenum sulphide (MoS_{2}) nanoflower with poly vinylidene fluoride (PVDF) polymer, which can harness otherwise wasted mechanical energy for useful energy generation or water purification. The unique MoS_{2} nanoflower morphology is exploited to render the whole nanocomposite piezo active. A number of features are demonstrated to establish potential practical usage. Firstly, the nanocomposite is piezoelectric and piezocatalytic simultaneously without requiring any poling step (i.e. self-poled). Secondly, the self-poled piezoelectricity is exploited to make a nanogenerator to produce electrical power. The nanogenerator produced >80 V under human finger tapping with a remarkable power density, reaching 47.14 mW cm^{-3}. The nanocomposite film is made by simple solution casting, and the corresponding nanogenerator powers up 25 commercial LEDs by finger tapping. Last but not the least, the developed films show efficient, fast and stable piezocatalytic dye degradation efficiency (>90% within 20 min) against four different toxic and carcinogenic dyes under dark condition using only ultrasonic vibration. Reusability of at least 10 times is also demonstrated without any loss of catalytic activity. Overall, our nanocomposite has clear potential for use as self-powered sensor and energy harvester, and in water remediation systems. It should potentially also be deployable as a surface mounted film/coating in process engineering, industrial effluent management and healthcare devices systems.

Type: Article
Title: Re-usable self-poled piezoelectric/piezocatalytic films with exceptional energy harvesting and water remediation capability
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2020.105339
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2020.105339
Language: English
Additional information: © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. under a Creative Commons license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Keywords: MoS_{2} nanoflower; PVDF; self-poling; nanogenerator; piezocatalysis; water remediation
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Mechanical Engineering
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Med Phys and Biomedical Eng
URI: https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10109977
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