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 selected 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, by introducing polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) for compounding, we have achieved a maximum enhancement of 543% in the compression modulus and an increase of nearly 700% in output power, demonstrating promising application prospects in the field of wearable sensing.