An eco-friendly flexible piezoelectric energy harvester that delivers high output performance is based on lead-free MASnI(3) films and MASnI(3)-PVDF composite films

Abstract

An environmentally-friendly lead-free methylammonium tin iodide (MASnI(3)) perovskite is successfully synthesized using a facile approach of an antisolvent-assisted collision technique (ACT) under room ambient conditions, which results stability within 24 h under ambient room conditions. The phase transition of MASnI3 from tetragonal to cubic is first observed at similar to 30 degrees C. Polycrystalline MASnI(3) films reveal a high dielectric constant of similar to 65 at 100 kHz, a low-leakage current density of 7x10(-7) A cm(-2) at 50 kV cm(-1), well-developed P-E hysteresis loops, and a high piezoelectric coefficient (d(33)) of 20.8 pm V-1. The MASnI(3) piezoelectric nanogenerator (PENG) shows an output voltage of similar to 3.8 V and an output current density of 0.35 mu A cm(-2). To enhance the piezoelectric output performance, the MASnI(3) films are composited with an environmentally friendly PVDF polymer that had a porous structure. The PVDF-MASnI(3) composite based-PENG reveals a maximum output voltage of similar to 12.0 V and current density of similar to 4.0 mu A cm(-2). A green light-emitting diode (LED) using the PVDF-MASnI(3) PENGs is instantly lighted without need of a storage device, and long-term stability of the composite PENGs is validated for 90 days. This simple and cost-effective solution process is feasible for the fabrication of large-scale, high-performance, and environmental-friendly PENGs based on lead-free organic-inorganic perovskites to extensively implicate in medical and biomechanical applications.