Synthesis of Ga-Doped ZnO Nanorods Using an Aqueous Solution Method for a Piezoelectric Nanogenerator

Mechanical energy is a potential energy source for self-powered electronic devices. Due to their unique semiconducting and piezoelectric properties, wurtzite-structured nanomaterials have been considered as potential candidates for piezoelectric nanogenerators that convert mechanical energy into electricity. In the present work, we report on the growth of Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) nanorods and investigate the performance of nanogenerators fabricated from undoped ZnO (UZO) nanorods, low Ga-doped ZnO (LGZO) nanorods, and high Ga-doped ZnO (HGZO) nanorods. A nanogenerator integrated with LGZO nanorods exhibited a current density of 1.2 mu A/cm(2), an enhancement over the 0.4 mu A/cm(2) and 0.7 mu A/cm(2) current densities of nanogenerators integrated with UZO and HGZO nanorods, respectively.