Enhanced piezoelectric performance of PAN nanofibers incorporated with a lead-free high entropy perovskite oxide for energy harvesting, sensing and IoT-based smart alert systems for security monitoring

Abstract

Piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENGs) provide a practical, portable, and eco-friendly alternative to traditional energy harvesting techniques. In IoT-enabled applications, the development of smart, portable alternatives to alert systems based on self-powered piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENGs) can offer a sustainable approach to intrusion detection. In this work, we introduced a piezoelectric nanogenerator composed of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) with a high-entropy perovskite oxide (HEPO), in particular (Na_0.2Bi_0.2Ba_0.2Sr_0.2Ca_0.2)TiO₃ for the enhanced piezoelectric behaviour of the flexible PAN nanofibers using an electrospinning technique. A thorough investigation of the structural and electrical properties of pure PAN and all the nanocomposites including dielectric, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric properties suggests that the PHC 10 nanocomposite containing 10 wt% of the HEPO nanoparticles is particularly promising for use in nanogenerator applications. The optimized PHN 10 device showcased remarkable piezoelectric energy harvesting capability, delivering a peak voltage of 16.96 V and a current output of 8.85 µA under an applied periodic force of 25 N load with a maximum attainable power density output of ∼211.25 µW cm⁻². The optimized device successfully powered 17 commercial LEDs, maintained stability over 10 000 cycles, and showed high sensitivity (∼0.23 V kPa⁻¹) for biomechanical sensing. The enhanced piezoelectric response of PHN 10 facilitated the development of a smart alert system for security monitoring, capable of detecting minute mechanical deformations and transmitting real-time intrusion alerts via email and messages with high accuracy. Overall, this work demonstrates the enhanced piezoelectric response of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) along with its improved dielectric, piezoelectric and ferroelectric properties, resulting in excellent energy harvesting and sensing performance, coupled with a smart alert system for intrusion detection, showing a promising approach for futuristic IoT-based applications.