The Surface Polarized Graphene Oxide Quantum Dot Films for Flexible Nanogenerators

Abundant disorderly-distributed surface functional groups, such as hydroxyl, carboxyl, ether and amino groups, endow an isolated graphene oxide quantum dot (GOQD) the polar property due to the symmetry breaking, although the aggregated counterparts present no polarization owing to the random orientation. Here, flexible polarized films were fabricated using aggregated GOQDs with the assistance of external electric fields and their polarization was confirmed with the electrostatic force microscopy and polarization-electric field hysteresis loop. Such polarized GOQD films may induce charges under externally applied deformation. Here, we fabricated nanogenerators based on the films, which gave out an average current value of 0.12 μA and an average voltage value of 12 V under a mechanical force of 60 N. This work has proposed a convenient electric-field-assisted method to give the nanomaterials new functions, which can be generalized to other materials and found applications in various fields.