Flexible pyroelectric energy harvesters from nanocomposites of liquid crystal elastomers/lead zirconate titanate nanoparticles.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 39937905.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/sciadv.adt6136 and PMC identifier 11817937.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Pyroelectric materials that can generate electric charges when subjected to temperature changes are of interest for renewable energy. However, current flexible pyroelectric energy harvesters suffer from low output. Here, we present a nanocomposite of liquid crystalline elastomer (LCE) and pyroelectric lead zirconate titanate (PZT) nanoparticles and demonstrate a flexible heat harvesting device with high output. The overall pyroelectricity is enhanced by the secondary pyroelectricity generated from the thermal stress imposed on the LCE. Calculations and simulations corroborate with experiments, suggesting that the monodomain LCE/PZT with fixed boundaries offers the most enhancement. At a maximum heating rate of 0.20 kelvin per second, the fixed monodomain film (42.7 weight % PZT) shows an output current of 2.81 nanoamperes and a voltage of 6.23 volts, corresponding to a pyroelectric coefficient <i>p</i> of -4.01 nanocoulombs per square centimeter per kelvin, 49% higher than that of the widely used polyvinylidene fluoride. Our energy harvester can charge capacitors and power electronic devices such as light-emitting diodes.