Mechanically Durable Balsa Wood-PDMS Composites for Self-Powered Vibration Energy Harvesting

With the continuous advancement of social technology, fossil fuel shortages and environmental pollution are becoming increasingly severe, leading to growing attention toward renewable energy technologies. Consequently, the development of novel eco-friendly energy devices holds significant importance. As a type of innovative eco-friendly energy device, piezoelectric materials have garnered extensive scholarly interest due to their ability to harvest energy from the environment (such as mechanical vibrations, sound waves, and human activities). Herein, we selects natural balsa wood as the substrate material in this study. After undergoing purification treatment to remove non-cellulosic impurities, the cellulose within the balsa wood retains an aerogel structure characterized by a high specific surface area and porosity. Furthermore, The cellulose/PDMS-20 aerogel samples, prepared under the condition of PDMS negative-pressure loading for 20 minutes, exhibit excellent compressive modulus and optimal triboelectric output performance, with an output voltage as high as 1.9 V and a short-circuit current of 26 nA, demonstrating promising application prospects in the field of wearable self-powered sensing.