Synthesis of PEG-assisted Ni-BaTiO ₃ nanoceramics and the enhanced piezoelectric response of its PVDF nanocomposite films

The incorporation of Ni-doped barium titanate into PVDF matrices has shown outstanding potential for energy harvesting in piezoelectric nanogenerators. This work focused on synthesising Ni-BaTiO3 via a PEG-stabilised sol–gel route and subsequently fabricating a Ni-BaTiO3/PVDF nanocomposite film by solvent casting. The morphological and structural features of Ni-BaTiO3 and its nanocomposites were examined using FESEM, XRD and FT-IR analysis. Evidence of Ni doping and defect states in Ni-BaTiO3 was also determined by Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence analysis. The decrease in emission intensity in the 420–480 nm range indicated defect-mediated transitions. Incorporating Ni-BaTiO3 into the PVDF matrix enhances the dielectric permittivity and piezoelectric response. Notably, PVDF with 4 wt% Ni-BaTiO3 exhibits an output voltage of 1.40 V, which is 2.07 times higher than that of pure PVDF, making it a promising material for piezoelectric nanogenerators for low-power electronic devices.