Research on the piezoelectric response of layered microgenerators on flexible substrates

The project aims to acquire new knowledge about the mechanisms of charge generation in portable piezoelectric elements on flexible substrates and about the dependence of the piezoelectric response on the arrangement of the piezoelectric regions on the flexible substrate, the type of active piezoelectric layer, the technological regimes for its production, and the parameters of the applied mechanical force. To this end, the design, production, and study of piezoelectric generator elements with potential application as alternative energy sources, constructed from layers with nano- and/or micro-scale thickness, are planned. Various technologies for producing layers of composite organic and inorganic materials for the active piezoelectric layers will be used, such as screen printing, vacuum sputtering, sputtering, and atomic layer deposition. The scientific tasks will be related to clarifying the physical nature of the processes for increasing the efficiency of converting mechanical energy into electrical energy and the ways they can be controlled and optimized. The possibilities for reducing the influence of mechanical stresses on the stability of piezoelectric efficiency, reducing the contact potential difference at the electrode/conversion layer interfaces, the course of polarization processes, the influence of temperature on the mobility of dipoles, and the coefficients of linear expansion of the flexible substrates will be investigated. A novelty on a global scale, in line with the contemporary trend for the development of biocompatible and environmentally friendly products, is the construction of an entirely polymeric piezoelectric structure, in which even the metal contacts are replaced with a conductive polymer from the class of polythiophenes. The study of such a structure will provide new knowledge regarding the processes occurring at the interface between the polymeric electrode and the functional polymeric layer.