Synthesis of zinc oxide/carbon fiber composites with improved piezoelectric response by plasma-liquid interaction

Flexible composites based on zinc oxide (ZnO) for piezoelectric sensors have attracted extensive attention. Herein, the zinc oxide/carbon fiber (ZnO/CF) composites with improved piezoelectric response are synthesized by an efficient and simple plasma-liquid interaction strategy. The ZnO lamellar nanostructure on the CF surface can be regulated with different plasma discharge time. Based on the inverse piezoelectric effect, the piezoelectric coefficient d33 of the composite is 5.24 p.m./V. This study largely simplifies the fabrication process of ZnO/CF composite and provides a new strategy for coupling piezoelectric materials on flexible substrates to improve piezoelectric response.