Self‐powered paper: Challenge to clean and green energy

In today’s world, finding sustainable ways to obtain energy has become a critical issue in energy generation. As a result, research efforts in the sustainable energy have consistently focused on the generation of energy from environmentally friendly sources and reducing the use of raw and toxic materials. This thesis takes into account two very important premises: clean energy harvesting and zero e-waste. The idea behind this device is based on the mechano-responsive charge-transfer mechanism and energy-transfer process in π-conjugated polymer at the PPy/cellulose composite - electrode interface layer. When a physical deformation occurs on the surface of the polymer by a mechanical force, the charge transfer mechanism occurs and consequently the translocation of the charge carriers between the polymer and electrode. For the fabrication of the device was used an Active Layer (AL) of PPy/cellulose composite tapped to a Charge Collector Layer (CCL). It can be made from a paper-based electrode or directly created on the AL. Silver and pencil graphite were the materials chosen for the electrode. 0.91 Wm-2 and 23.5 mA m-2 current density and power density, respectively, were obtained for the both developed devices. This technology could be very promising in the area of security systems with the use of code bars and can also be used for energy harvesting system