Nanogenerators (NGs) have great potential to solve the problems of energy depletion and environmental pollution. Here, two types of flexible nanogenerators (FNGs) based on graphene oxide (GO) and multiwall carbon nanotubes (MW-CNTs) are presented. The peak output voltage and current of GO based FNG reached up to 2 V and 30 nA, respectively, under 15 N force at 1 Hz. Moreover, the output voltage could be improved to 34.4 V when the frequency was increased to 10 Hz. It was also found the output voltage increased from 0.1 V to 2.0 V using a released GO structure. The other FNG was made by MW-CNTs mixed with ZnO nanoparticles (NPs). Its output voltage and power reached up to 7.5 V and 18.75 mW, respectively, which is much larger than that of bare ZnO based FNG. Furthermore, a peak voltage of 30 V could be gained by stamping one’s foot on the FNG. Finally, a modified NG was fabricated using four springs and two flexible layers. As a result, the voltage and power reached up to 9 V and 27mW, respectively. These works may bring out broad applications in energy harvesting.

MEMS vibration energy harvesting has been investigated to provide energy to low-power micro-electronic systems and potentially to enable batteryless autonomous systems. While enjoying the small footprint hence the ability to be embedded in other systems, MEMS vibration energy harvesters are working at much higher frequencies and input vibration amplitudes. The mechanical resonator based energy harvesters seem inherently have such high frequency due to the scaling of the device dimension. Lower the working frequency range and input vibration amplitude are possible by optimizing the dimensions of the device. However, we are viewing the problem from a different perspective and proposing a solution based on employing the common material property of the micro-fabricated thin film – residual stress. We found that by taking advantage of the compressive residual stress, a bi-stable mechanical resonator could be built and a new spectrum of dynamics can be brought into energy harvesting, which could lower the working frequency range and input g value. The concepts have been analytically simulated and experimentally verified by a meso-scale model.

In addition to the piezoelectric nanogenerators and triboelectric nanogenerators, recently, the graphene-based nanogenerator has been widely concerned because of its simple assembly, flexibility and high structural stability. There are many interesting effects in graphene applied for nanogenenrators including anion adsorption in electrolyte solution, ion channels in graphene sheets network and the strain (band engineering) effect, etc. In this paper, we focus explicitly on the experimental results, mechanisms and applications of the graphene-based nanogenerator, and introduce our recent research on the graphene-based nanogenerator based on "modulation of the graphene strain-energy band effect". This nanogenerator is expected to have potential applications in active sensors and sustainable power source.

The reaction mechanism of BaCO3+CaCO3+TiO2 by solid state methods has been studied in this work using thermal analysis (DSC-TG) from 500 to 1500 °C and in situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) from room temperature to 800 °C. In the mixed powders, the CaO is firstly formed followed by presence of an intermediate Ba2TiO4 phase and finally the formation of CaTiO3, BaTiO3 and/or (Ba,Ca)TiO3, where the presence of CaO or CaTiO3 (CT) has slowed down the formation of BaTiO3 (BT). Raman microscopy of a BT-CT diffusion couple has shown that Ca2+ firstly diffuses into the BT grain boundaries and then into the BT core.

This paper presents a method for noise-free recording of the keyboard-based musical instruments. By integrating an r-shaped triboelectric generator (TEG) into the keyboard of a piano, it can produce electric signal while playing music due to the combination of contact electrification and electric induction. We investigated the electric signal and developed a graphical user interface to convert the electric signal back to music. Using the piano and the graphical user interface, active noise-free recording can be realized. Namely, only the sound produced by the piano can be converted and recorded, while other noise in the environment can be filtered automatically.

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) exist in different phases depending on temperature and stress level. Experimental evidence shows that SMAs oscillate between two shapes during thermal cycling. This phenomenon, known as two-way shape-memory effect, occurs due to a transformation between the austenitic phase and the martensitic phase. The two-way shape-memory behavior is studied here by molecular dynamics simulations in NiTi nanowires of different diameter to understand the effect of loading on the size-dependent behavior. Thermal cycling is performed while holding the system at zero stress and at a fixed compressive stress. At zero stress, the martensite structure formed on cooling depends on the wire diameter. However, when cooling is performed at a sufficiently large constant compressive stress, the formation of a single martensitic variant is observed for all diameters.