Analysis of direct and converse piezoelectric responses from zinc oxide nanowires grown on a conductive fabric

Single crystalline hexagonal wurtzite zinc oxide nanowires (NWs) were grown on conductive commercial textile fabric as piezoelectric material. Aqueous chemical growth method was used for the synthesis of ZnO NWs. Field-emission surface scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques were used for surface and structural analysis of grown NWs. The mechanical and piezoelectric properties of the NWs were investigated by nanoindentation. Piezoelectric potentials up to 0.013 V were measured in response to direct applied loads in the range of 0–11 mN. Also, a DC voltage was applied for measurement of converse piezoelectric response under a low constant applied force (∼5 µN) and the piezoelectric coefficient was found to be 33.2 pm V−1. This study performed on commercial conductive textile demonstrates the feasibility to fabricate wearable nanogenerator clothing.