Electrosprayed boron nitride nanosheet aggregates for enhanced acoustic energy harvesting with poly(vinylidene fluoride) nanofiber membranes

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

While often regarded as an annoyance, noise conceals a surprisingly abundant source of untapped energy that can be efficiently harvested to power a variety of micro-devices. However, achieving high electric outputs from acoustic energy harvesters remains a formidable challenge. In this study, we employ a one-step approach that integrates electrospining and electrospraying techniques to fabricate a single-layer composite membrane, comprising a poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) nanofiber network with uniformly dispersed boron nitride nanosheet aggregates (BNNS-A) for sound energy harvesting. Our 3×4 cm2 +PVDF/-BN device generates peak voltage and current outputs of 174.2 V and 19.2 µA, respectively, when exposed to 115 dB, 230 Hz sound. Remarkably, this device exhibits the highest voltage output among other similar PVDF-based acoustoelectric devices operating under comparable sound conditions. Furthermore, the incorporation of BNNS-A enhances maximum peak power output by 30-fold compared to pure PVDF nanofiber devices. This study provides a profound understanding of endogenous triboelectricity mechanism in nanocomposites and presents a promising approach for producing high-performance nanofiber acoustoelectric devices.