Le développement des énergies renouvelables peut non seulement compenser le manque d'énergie fossile à l'avenir, mais aussi sauver notre planète en réduisant la pollution par les émissions de CO2. Les matériaux piézoélectriques ont la capacité de convertir les mouvements mécaniques environnementaux en énergie électrique. Dans le cadre de cette thèse, deux types de matériaux piézoélectriques ont été étudiés pour la récupération d’énergie : les nanofils de ZnO et les microfibres de PVDF-TrFE. L’objectif ultime de cette thèse est de réaliser les dispositifs de la récupération d’énergie à faible coût pour rendre les capteurs autonomes.Au cours de la dernière décennie, les nanofils de ZnO ont suscité un grand intérêt dans le domaine de la recherche en raison de leurs multifonctionnalités avec un grand potentiel d’applications dans les différents domaines (récupération d’énergie par effet piézoélectrique et photovoltaïque, capteurs biologiques & chimiques, dépollution de l’eau & de l’air par effet photocatalytique, …). Le PVDF-TrFE est un polymère attrayant dans les applications de la récupération d'énergie en raison de ses propriétés piézoélectriques, son faible coût et sa grande flexibilité mécanique.Dans ce travail, deux méthodes de synthèse ont été employées pour obtenir les micro- & nanomatériaux piézoélectriques : Hydrothermale pour les réseaux verticaux des nanofils de ZnO et Electrospinning pour les microfibres de PVDF-TrFE. Les conditions de synthèse ont été optimisées afin d’obtenir les échantillons adéquats aux applications envisagées. Ensuite, deux types de dispositifs de la récupération d’énergie ont été fabriqués. Dans un premier temps, nous avons conçu des microgénérateurs (MGs) à base des microfibres de PVDF-TrFE déposées sur le substrat Kapton. Ces MGs flexibles basés sur l’effet piézoélectrique direct permettant la conversion de l’énergie mécanique en énergie électrique à basse fréquence de l’ordre d’hertz. Le second type de nanogénérateurs (NGs) est basé sur des nanofils verticaux de ZnO sur le substrat en silicium. Les tests de la récupération d’énergie ont été réalisés dans une gamme de fréquences de quelques centaines d’hertz pour l’application aéronautique / Development of renewable energy can not only compensate for the lack of fossil energy in the future, but also save our planet by reducing CO2 emission pollution. Piezoelectric materials have the ability to convert environmental mechanical movements into electrical energy. In this thesis, two types of piezoelectric materials have been studied for energy harvesting: ZnO nanowires and PVDF-TrFE microfibers. The ultimate goal of this thesis is to realize the low cost energy harvesting devices for self-powered sensors.Over the past decade, ZnO nanowires had attracted a great interest in the research field due to their multifunctionality with a great potential in the various applications (energy harvesting by piezoelectric and photovoltaic effect, bio & chemical sensors, water & air purification by photocatalytic effect ...). PVDF-TrFE is also an attractive polymer in energy harvesting due to its piezoelectric properties, high mechanical flexibility, and also for its low cost.In this work, two synthesis methods have been used to obtain the piezoelectric micro- & nanomaterials: Hydrothermal for the ZnO nanowire arrays and Electrospinning for the PVDF-TrFE microfibers. The synthesis conditions have been optimized in order to obtain the suitable samples for the applications. Then, two types of energy harvesting devices were manufactured. First, we realized the microgenerators (MGs) based on the PVDF-TrFE microfibers deposited on the Kapton substrate. These flexible MGs based on the direct piezoelectric effect allowing the conversion of mechanical energy into electrical energy at low frequency of the order of hertz. The second type of nanogenerators (NGs) is based on ZnO nanowire array on the silicon substrate. The energy harvesting tests were carried out in a frequency range of a few hundred hertz for the aeronautical application

Detta projekts mål har varit att undersöka tre olika 2D-materials triboelektriska egenskaper och därmed placera dem i en triboelektrisk serie. Detta utfördes genom att använda en triboelektrisk nanogenerator (TENG) och mäta den resulterande spänningen. Tio stycken motmaterial applicerades mot varje 2D-material på nanogeneratorn. Utifrån resultatet var det möjligt uppmärka typiska vågformer för en TENG, alltså kunde resultatet från mätningen antas vara från den triboelektriska effekten. 2D-materialen placerades tillsammans med dess motmaterial i en triboelektrisk serie och sorterades sedan för att bestämma dess elektronaffinitet. För de tre 2D-materialen hade de gemensamt att ETFE och FEP tillhör den positiva sidan av den triboelektriska serien relativt de 2D-materialen. Resten, alltså: cellofan, kapton, LDPE, nylon, PEEK, PEI, polypropylene och PTFE, placerades negativt i deras respektives 2D-materials serie. Dock blev resultatet ej som förväntat, då ordningen på motmaterialen i serien kunde antas vara samma för alla 2D-material, men detta var inte vad som hittades. Anledningen till detta kan möjligtvis vara ytladdningar som kan ha överförts till materialen medans de hanterades, eller på grund av ytstrukturen av 2D-materialen. Därför föreslås att detta arbete kan förbättras genom mer varsam hantering och spridning av materialen över dess plattform.

An abundance of energy in our environment exists in the form of light, thermal, mechanical (e.g., vibration, sonic waves, wind, and hydraulic), magnetic, chemical, and biological. Harvesting these forms of energy is of critical importance for solving long-term energy needs and the sustainable development of the planet. However, conversion cells for harvesting solar energy and mechanical energy are usually independent entities that are designed and built following distinct physical principles. The effective and complementary use of such energy resources whenever and wherever one or all of them are available demands the development of innovative approaches for the conjunctional harvesting of multiple types of energy using an integrated structure/material. By combining solar and mechanical energy-harvesting modules into a single package for higher energy conversion efficiency and a more effective energy recovery process, the research has designed and demonstrated a hybrid cell for harvesting solar and mechanical energy. The results of the research show that we can fully utilize the energy available from our living environment by developing a technology that harvests multiple forms of both solar and mechanical energy 24 hours a day. As the proposed research represents a breakthrough in the innovation of energy harvesting, it should pave the way toward building a new field called "multi-type hybrid" energy harvesting.

Traditional fabrication methods used to manufacture biosensors for physiological, therapeutics, or health monitoring purposes are complex and rely on costly materials, which has hindered their adoption as single-use medical devices. The development of a new kind of wearable and implantable electronics relying on inexpensive materials for their manufacturing will pave the way towards the ubiquitous adoption of sticker-like health tracking devices.<div>One of growing and most promising applications for biosensors is the continuous health monitoring using mechanically soft, stretchable sensors. While these healthcare devices showed an excellent compatibility with human tissues, they still need highly trained personnel to perform multi-step, prolonged fabrication for several functioning layers of the device. In this dissertation, I propose low-cost, scalable, simple, and rapid manufacturing techniques to fabricate multifunctional epidermal and implantable sensors to monitor a range of biosignals including heart, muscle, or eye activity to characterizing of biofuids such as sweat. I have also used these devices as an implant to provide heat therapy for muscle regeneration and optical stimulation of neurons using optogenetics. These devices have also combined with those of triboelectric<br>nanogenerators to realize self-powered sensors for monitoring imperceptible mechanical biosignals such as respiratory and pulse rate.</div><div>Food health and safety has also emerged as another important frontier to develop biosensors and improve the human health and quality of life. The recent progresses on detecting microbial activity inside foods or their packages rely on development of highly functional materials. The existing materials for fabrication of food sensors, however,<br>are often costly and toxic for human health or the environment. In this dissertation, I proposed biocompatible food sensors using protein/PCL microfibers to reinforce the protein microfibrous structure in humid conditions and exploit their excellent hygroscopic properties to sense biogenic gas, as an indicator for early detection of food spoilage. Finally, my battery-free food sensors are capable of monitoring food safety with no need of extra measurement devices. Collectively, this dissertation proposes cost-effective solutions to solve human health issues, enabled by developing low-cost, functional materials and exploiting simple fabrication techniques.<br></div>