Ren Zhongqi, Deng Shiqing, Shao Junda, Si Yangyang, Zhou Chao, Luo Jingjing, Wang Tao, Li Jinyang, Li Jingxuan, Liu Haipeng, Qi Xue, Wang Peike, Yin Ao, Wu Lijun, Yu Suzhu, Zhu Yimei, Chen Jun, Das Sujit, Wei Jun, Chen Zuhuang
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining of Materials and Structures, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), Shenzhen, 518055, P.R. China.
Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, P.R. China.
Nat Commun. 2025 Apr 3;16(1):3192. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-58386-1.
Flexible piezoelectric nanogenerators are emerging as a promising solution for powering next-generation flexible electronics by converting mechanical energy into electrical energy. However, traditional ferroelectric ceramics, despite their excellent piezoelectric properties, lack flexibility; while piezoelectric polymers, although highly flexible, have low piezoelectricity. The quest to develop materials that combine high piezoelectricity with exceptional flexibility has thus become a research focus. Herein, we present a breakthrough in this field with the fabrication of freestanding (111)-oriented PbZrTiO single crystalline thin films, which exhibit remarkable flexibility and a high converse piezoelectric coefficient (585 pm/V). This is achieved through water-soluble sacrificial layer to relieve substrate clamping and controlling the crystal orientation to further enhance the piezoelectric response. Our nanogenerators, constructed using these freestanding nanoscale membranes, demonstrate a record-high output power density (63.5 mW/cm), excellent flexibility (with a strain tolerance >3.4%), and superior mechanical stability in cycling tests (>60,000 cycles). These advancements pave the way for high-performance, flexible electronic devices utilizing ferroelectric oxide thin films.
柔性压电纳米发电机正崭露头角，成为通过将机械能转化为电能为下一代柔性电子产品供电的一种很有前景的解决方案。然而，传统铁电陶瓷尽管具有优异的压电性能，却缺乏柔韧性；而压电聚合物虽然具有高度柔韧性，但压电性较低。因此，开发兼具高压电性和卓越柔韧性的材料已成为研究重点。在此，我们通过制备独立的（111）取向的PbZrTiO单晶薄膜在该领域取得了突破，该薄膜展现出卓越的柔韧性和高的逆压电系数（约585 pm/V）。这是通过水溶性牺牲层来减轻衬底夹持并控制晶体取向以进一步增强压电响应来实现的。我们使用这些独立的纳米级薄膜构建的纳米发电机展现出创纪录的高输出功率密度（约6 mW/cm）、优异的柔韧性（应变耐受性>3.4%）以及在循环测试中出色的机械稳定性（>60,000次循环）。这些进展为利用铁电氧化物薄膜的高性能柔性电子器件铺平了道路。
