Lead-free PDMS/PPy based low-cost wearable piezoelectric nanogenerator for self-powered pulse pressure sensor application

Abstract

Self-powered biocompatible electronic devices to detect vital physiological signals of the human body are in great demand in wearable applications. In this work, a low-cost polydimethylsiloxane/polypyrrole composite polymer film-based piezoelectric nanogenerator is fabricated and utilized as a self-powered arterial pulse pressure sensor. XRD and Raman analysis are used to confirm the crystal structural orientation and chemical composition of composite polymer, respectively. Uniform and crack-free morphology of PDMS/PPy composite polymer film is confirmed via Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy, while Energy Dispersive X-Ray is used to study the elemental analysis of composite polymer film, which confirms that there is no extra impurity present in the system. A flexible and robust piezoelectric nanogenerator with device configuration of Al coated PET/(PDMS: PPy)/ ITO coated PET is fabricated that gives an output voltage of 12 V and current density of 0.11 µA/cm2 when 1.47 N/cm2pressure is applied. The biocompatible nanogenerator as a self-powered pulse sensor is demonstrated, thus proving its potential for developing versatile self-powered systems useful in biomedical applications.