Superelastic wood‐based nanogenerators magnifying the piezoelectric effect for sustainable energy conversion
Tong Wu,
Yun Lu,
Xinglin Tao,
Pan Chen,
Yongyue Zhang,
Bohua Ren,
Feifan Xie,
Xia Yu,
Xinyi Zhou,
Dongjiang Yang,
Jin Sun,
Xiangyu Chen
Affiliations
Tong Wu
State Key Laboratory of Bio‐fibers and Eco‐textiles, School of Environmental Science and Engineering Institute of Marine Biobased Materials Qingdao University Qingdao China
Yun Lu
Research Institute of Wood Industry Chinese Academy of Forestry Beijing China
Xinglin Tao
Beijing Key Laboratory of Micro‐Nano Energy and Sensor CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
Pan Chen
Beijing Engineering Research Centre of Cellulose and Its Derivatives School of Materials Science and Engineering Beijing Institute of Technology Beijing China
Yongyue Zhang
Research Institute of Wood Industry Chinese Academy of Forestry Beijing China
Bohua Ren
Research Institute of Wood Industry Chinese Academy of Forestry Beijing China
Feifan Xie
Research Institute of Wood Industry Chinese Academy of Forestry Beijing China
Xia Yu
Research Institute of Wood Industry Chinese Academy of Forestry Beijing China
Xinyi Zhou
Research Institute of Wood Industry Chinese Academy of Forestry Beijing China
Dongjiang Yang
State Key Laboratory of Bio‐fibers and Eco‐textiles, School of Environmental Science and Engineering Institute of Marine Biobased Materials Qingdao University Qingdao China
Jin Sun
State Key Laboratory of Bio‐fibers and Eco‐textiles, School of Environmental Science and Engineering Institute of Marine Biobased Materials Qingdao University Qingdao China
Xiangyu Chen
Beijing Key Laboratory of Micro‐Nano Energy and Sensor CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
Abstract In the quest for sustainable energy materials, wood is discovered to be a potential piezoelectric material. However, the rigidity, poor stability, and low piezoelectric properties of wood impede its development. Here, we obtained a superelastic roasted wood nanogenerator (RW‐NG) by unraveling ray tissues through a sustainable roasting strategy. The increased compressibility of roasted wood intensifies the deformation of cellulose microfibrils, significantly enhancing the piezoelectric effect in wood. Roasted wood (15 × 15 × 15 mm3, longitudinal × radial × tangential) can generate a voltage and current outputs of 1.4 V and 14.5 nA, respectively, which are more than 70 times that of natural wood. The wood sample can recover 90% of its shape after 5000 compressions at 65% strain, exhibiting excellent elasticity and stability. Importantly, roasted wood does not add any toxic substances and can be safely applied on the human skin as a self‐powered sensor for detecting body movements. Moreover, it can also be assembled into self‐powered wooden floors for energy harvesting. These indicate that roasted wood has great potential for sustainable sensing and energy conversion.
