Patent ID: 8680574

Claim:
A hybrid nanostructure array, comprising: a substrate; a set of first nanostructures extending from said substrate, wherein adjacent nanostructures of said set of first nanostructures have interstitial spaces extending therebetween and in a direction away from the substrate; a set of second nanostructures interspersed among said first nanostructures and positioned in said interstitial spaces between said first nanostructures; wherein said first and second nanostructures comprise structures having nanoscale proportions in two dimensions and being elongate in the third dimension; and wherein said first nanostructures have a composition or shape that is different than said second nanostructures; wherein said second nanostructures comprise piezoelectric nanostructures that exhibit the piezoelectric effect when deformed from a relaxed state; wherein said first nanostructures comprise carbon nanotubes; and wherein said piezoelectric nanostructures comprise ZnO nanowires.