Thermal Properties of Poly(vinyl chloride-co-vinyl acetate-co-2-hydroxypropyl acrylate) (PVVH) Polymer and Its Application in ZnO Based Nanogenerators

A novel piezoelectricity based nano energy conversion device using vertically aligned ZnO nanowires/PVVH matrix as the working unit is proposed. Thermal energy is converted to electricity via the interaction of the PVVH polymer and ZnO nanowires. The thermal properties of PVVH are studied using Raman spectroscopy under different temperatures. The results show that the structure of PVVH is sensitive to fluctuations of the environmental temperatures. With the increasing temperature, PVVH tends to be crystallized and stress can be developed inside the polymer. The stress is responsible for the deformation and voltage generation of the ZnO nanowires.