In the past decade, zinc oxide (ZnO) has become increasingly attractive as a II-VI semiconductor within the international scientific community due to its numerous unique and beneficial properties. With extensive applications in electronics, phonics, acoustics, energy and sensing, ZnO is being used extensively in nanostructure applications to create materials with high bio-compatibility and piezoelectric traits […]
In the past decade, zinc oxide (ZnO) has become increasingly attractive as a II-VI semiconductor within the international scientific community due to its numerous unique and beneficial properties. With extensive applications in electronics, phonics, acoustics, energy and sensing, ZnO is being used extensively in nanostructure applications to create materials with high bio-compatibility and piezoelectric traits at low costs.
This book focuses on ZnO as a nanostructure with promising applications in energy harvesting. In the first half of the book, its different forms are explored, including its most applied forms as a nanowire, and different low cost fabrication methods are discussed.
The author then dedicates the main body of the book to ZnO nanostructure-based piezoelectric nanogenerators, emphasizing the advantages of the materials’ intrinsic properties. This technology has potential applications for converting mechanical movement energy, vibration energy, and hydraulic energy (from ambient sources) into electric energy for self-powered micro- and nanosystems.
Results within these applications are presented, highlighting the recent progress in nanopiezotronics as well as introducing the remaining issues to be tackled in device fabrication.