  We provide a detailed insight into piezoelectric energy generation from
arrays of polymer nanofibers. For sake of comparison, we firstly measure
individual poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFe)) fibers
at well-defined levels of compressive stress. Under an applied load of 2 mN,
single nanostructures generate a voltage of 0.45 mV. We show that under the
same load conditions, fibers in dense arrays exhibit a voltage output higher by
about two orders of magnitude. Numerical modelling studies demonstrate that the
enhancement of the piezoelectric response is a general phenomenon associated to
the electromechanical interaction among adjacent fibers, namely a cooperative
effect depending on specific geometrical parameters. This establishes new
design rules for next piezoelectric nano-generators and sensors.
