Fabrication of multifunctional perovskite PZT immobilized with PVDF-HFP as piezo-photocatalysts for energy production and environmental remediation

Abstract

The piezo-photo response material's ability to consistently tackle energy and environmental issues has drawn much attention. The research focused on developing a piezo-photo response system by modifying the PZT surface material with a novel ZnBi LDH filler material and embedding it into a PVDF-HFP polymer substrate. As a result, PVDF-HFP/PZT@ZnBi LDH composite films were obtained. Furthermore, the composite film was applied to create an electronic skin (E-skin) device capable of sensing human body movement, including finger tapping, finger banding, wrist bending, elbow bending, knee bending, and foot tapping. Additionally, the photo responsiveness of the ZnBi LDH's nanoneedle shape can improve the surface phenomenon by producing more active sites for the photocatalysis degradation of organic pollutants. This composite film enhances photo response and piezoelectric characteristics, demonstrating degradation efficiency of 87% for Congo Red (CR) and 94% for an industrial pollutant while producing a high output voltage of up to 12V. Therefore, our findings emphasize the critical role of surface and interface science in selecting materials with intrinsic piezo-photo response properties to generate sustainable energy and address environmental challenges.