Flexible all-inorganic piezoelectric full wind direction wind-induced oscillating energy harvester

Wind power is essential for deep decarbonization and global net-zero emissions, but the low average surface wind speed (3.28 m/s) limits efficient energy harvesting by traditional generators. Flexible piezoelectric energy harvesters, leveraging the piezoelectric effect, offer a promising solution for gentle breeze energy harvesting due to their self-powered nature and high sensitivity to small vibrations. In this study, we design a flexible all-inorganic piezoelectric energy harvester with full wind-direction responsiveness, attached to a real leaf for gentle breeze energy harvesting. First, a piezoelectric AlN thin film is grown on a mica substrate via one-step magnetron sputtering, achieving a highly oriented, nanoscale smooth surface. The device is rendered flexible by thinning the mica, showing excellent bending durability. Second, vibration tests and beam simulations demonstrate outstanding energy harvesting performance, with strong dependence on device placement and bending degree. Third, wind tunnel experiments and transient simulations quantify the harvester’s ability to capture gentle breeze-induced vibrations on a real leaf. Moreover, wind tunnel tests with varying leaf rotation directions confirm the harvester’s capability to harvest wind-induced vibration energy from all directions. This work presents a feasible approach for gentle breeze energy harvesting and expands the application scenarios of flexible devices.