In-Depth Exploration Of The Synergistic Interplay Between Perovskite Barium Titanate Nanoparticles And Two-Dimensional Graphene Oxide For Flexible Piezoelectric Nanogenerators

To maximize the synergistic effects of hybridized heteromaterials in terms of device performance of piezoelectric nanogenerators (PNGs), we demonstrate an unprecedented strategy for the direct growth of perovskite piezoelectric barium titanate (BTO) nanoparticles (NPs) on two-dimensional graphene oxide (GO) via a simple hydrothermal method. The mutual interactions between the strongly coupled heteromaterials in terms of their structural, chemical, and electrical variations are systematically explored. From these comprehensive spectroscopic and microscopic examinations, we ascertain that the hybridization of BTO NPs with GO enables to enhance the piezoelectric response of the PNGs compared with those of pristine BTO NPs-based PNGs and simply mixed BTO NPs/GO-based PNGs. This can be understood by the synergistic interplay of the heteromaterials associated with (i) the formation of homogeneous size distribution of the BTO NPs after the hybridization, (ii) healing of oxygen vacancies in the BTO crystals and a simultaneous improvement in the crystallinity of GO through chemical reduction.