Revolutionizing Wearable Electronics: Zinc Oxide-Based Piezoelectric Nanogenerators for Mechanical Energy Harvesting
JOURNAL OF ELECTRONIC MATERIALS, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Derleme
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1007/s11664-026-13080-w
- Dergi Adı: JOURNAL OF ELECTRONIC MATERIALS
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Aerospace Database, Applied Science & Technology Source, Chemical Abstracts Core, Chimica, Compendex, INSPEC, Engineering Source (EBSCO), Materials Science & Engineering Collection (ProQuest), Pharma Collection (ProQuest), Technology Collection (ProQuest)
- Erciyes Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENGs) have attracted growing attention as self-powered devices that can convert low-frequency mechanical motions into electrical energy for wearable electronics, biomedical sensors, smart textiles, and portable microelectronic systems. Among various piezoelectric materials, zinc oxide (ZnO) is a particularly promising candidate because of its piezoelectric and semiconducting nature, wide bandgap, biocompatibility, low toxicity, low cost, and compatibility with flexible substrates. This review discusses the operating principles of ZnO-based PENGs and examines how crystal structure, morphology, doping, substrate selection, surface modification, and device architecture affect their output performance. Particular attention is given to ZnO nanowires, nanorods, nanosheets, nanoparticles, composite films, and hybrid structures produced by hydrothermal synthesis, chemical vapor deposition, electrochemical deposition, spin coating, and related fabrication methods. Recent progress in doped ZnO systems, polymer-supported structures, textile-integrated devices, and ZnO-based hybrid architectures is critically compared in terms of efficiency, flexibility, stability, cost, and practical applicability. The review also highlights current application trends in wearable electronics, biomedical devices, environmental monitoring, and self-powered sensing systems, while discussing remaining challenges such as low output power, charge screening, mechanical fatigue, humidity sensitivity, and large-scale fabrication. Finally, future perspectives are outlined, including artificial intelligence-assisted material design, conductive polymer/ZnO hybrids, bio-integrated systems, and fully integrated PENG platforms combining energy harvesting, storage, signal conversion, and sensing. This review provides a structured overview of ZnO-based PENGs and offers guidance for the design of next-generation flexible and self-powered energy-harvesting systems.