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Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting and Sensing Technology: Materials, Mechanisms, and Applications

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Smart Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 April 2024) | Viewed by 14121

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Dr. Lin Dong

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Guest Editor

Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, USA
Interests: piezoelectric materials; flexible electronics; energy harvesting and sensing devices
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Pengrong Ren

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Guest Editor

School of Materials Science and Engineering, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi'an 710048, China
Interests: dielectric and piezoelectric ceramics; advanced ceramics material; functional nanomaterial; thin films

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Recent progress in material science, manufacturing technology, and biotechnology advances has fostered exciting applications that are based on piezoelectric materials. The development and expansion of piezoelectric-based energy harvesting and sensing technologies offer new opportunities for the next generation of wearable and implantable electronics. In particular, advancements in nano/microfabrication and bioengineering allow piezoelectric energy harvesters and sensors to be developed with the significant advantages of flexibility, low cost, and real-time, self-powered, label-free sensing for potential applications in areas such as healthcare, electronics, and automotive applications, suggesting a new platform for ongoing research efforts in the field. This Special Issue is dedicated to current research activities on the most recent developments in piezoelectric materials, including novel materials design, advanced fabrication techniques, as well as their integration with other systems for energy harvesting and sensing applications. Both reviews and original research papers on principles and applications are welcome.

Dr. Lin Dong
Dr. Pengrong Ren
Guest Editors

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Keywords

piezoelectric materials
energy harvesting
sensing
nanomaterials
nano/microfabrication

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Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 4741 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Improvement of Electro-Caloric Effect and Energy Storage Density in BaTiO₃-Bi(Zn, Ti)O₃ Ceramics Prepared with BaTiO₃ Nano-Powder

by Geun-Soo Lee, Jeong-Seog Kim and Chae-Il Cheon

Materials 2024, 17(13), 3146; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17133146 - 27 Jun 2024

Viewed by 379

Abstract

BaTiO₃-Bi(Zn,Ti)O₃ (BT-BZT) ceramics have been used as capacitors due to their large dielectric permittivity and excellent temperature stability and are good candidates for lead-free materials for electrocaloric and energy storage devices. However, BT-BZT ceramics often suffer from inferior properties and poor reproducibility due to heterogeneous compositional distribution after calcination and sintering. In this work, (1−x)BT-xBZT ceramics (x = 0~0.2) were fabricated with nano-sized BaTiO₃ raw materials (nano-BT) by a solid-state reaction method to enhance the chemical homogeneity. The (1−x)BT-xBZT ceramics prepared from the nano-BT showed larger densities and more uniform microstructures at the lower calcination and sintering temperatures than the samples prepared from more frequently used micrometer-sized raw materials BaCO₃, TiO₂, Bi₂O₃, and ZnO. The (1−x)BT-xBZT ceramic prepared from the nano-BT displayed a phase transition from a tetragonal ferroelectric to a pseudo-cubic relaxor in a narrower composition range than the sample prepared from micro-sized raw materials. Larger adiabatic temperature changes due to the electro-caloric effect (ΔT_ECE) and recoverable energy storage density (U_rec) were observed in the samples prepared from the nano-BT due to the higher breakdown electric fields, the larger densities, and uniform microstructures. The 0.95BT-0.05BZT sample showed the largest ΔTECE of 1.59 K at 80 °C under an electric field of 16 kV/mm. The 0.82BT-0.18BZT sample displayed a U_rec of 1.45 J/cm², which is much larger than the previously reported value of 0.81 J/cm² in BT-BZT ceramics. The nano-BT starting material produced homogeneous BT-BZT ceramics with enhanced ECE and energy storage properties and is expected to manufacture other homogeneous solid solutions of BaTiO₃ and Bi-based perovskite with high performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting and Sensing Technology: Materials, Mechanisms, and Applications)

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20 pages, 5140 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Piezoelectric Actuators in Smart Engineering Structures Using Robust Control

by Amalia Moutsopoulou, Markos Petousis, Nectarios Vidakis, Anastasios Pouliezos and Georgios E. Stavroulakis

Materials 2024, 17(10), 2357; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17102357 - 15 May 2024

Viewed by 590

Abstract

In this study, piezoelectric patches are used as actuators to dampen structural oscillations. Damping oscillations is a significant engineering challenge, and the use of piezoelectric patches in smart structures allows for a reduction in oscillations through sophisticated control methods. This analysis involved H-infinity (H∞) robust analysis. H∞ (H-infinity) control formulation is a robust control design method used to ensure system stability and performance under disturbances. When applied to piezoelectric actuators in smart structures, H∞ control aims to design controllers that are robust to variations in system dynamics, external disturbances, and modeling uncertainties, while meeting specified performance criteria. This study outlines the piezoelectric effects and advanced control strategies. A structural model was created using finite elements, and a smart structural model was analyzed. Subsequently, dynamic loads were applied and oscillation damping was successfully achieved by employing advanced control techniques. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting and Sensing Technology: Materials, Mechanisms, and Applications)

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20 pages, 6128 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Polymorph of Dipeptide Halide Glycyl-L-Alanine Hydroiodide Monohydrate: Crystal Structure, Optical Second Harmonic Generation, Piezoelectricity and Pyroelectricity

by Rosa M. F. Baptista, Clara S. B. Gomes, Bruna Silva, João Oliveira, Bernardo Almeida, Cidália Castro, Pedro V. Rodrigues, Ana Machado, Ruben B. Freitas, Manuel J. L. F. Rodrigues, Etelvina de Matos Gomes and Michael Belsley

Materials 2023, 16(10), 3690; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16103690 - 12 May 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1982

Abstract

A polymorph of glycyl-L-alanine HI.H₂O is synthesized from chiral cyclo-glycyl-L-alanine dipeptide. The dipeptide is known to show molecular flexibility in different environments, which leads to polymorphism. The crystal structure of the glycyl-L-alanine HI.H₂O polymorph is determined at room temperature and indicates that the space group is polar (P2₁), with two molecules per unit cell and unit cell parameters a = 7.747 Å, b = 6.435 Å, c = 10.941 Å, α = 90°, β = 107.53(3)°, γ = 90° and V = 520.1(7) Å³. Crystallization in the polar point group 2, with one polar axis parallel to the b axis, allows pyroelectricity and optical second harmonic generation. Thermal melting of the glycyl-L-alanine HI.H₂O polymorph starts at 533 K, close to the melting temperature reported for cyclo-glycyl-L-alanine (531 K) and 32 K lower than that reported for linear glycyl-L-alanine dipeptide (563 K), suggesting that although the dipeptide, when crystallized in the polymorphic form, is not anymore in its cyclic form, it keeps a memory of its initial closed chain and therefore shows a thermal memory effect. Here, we report a pyroelectric coefficient as high as 45 µC/m²K occurring at 345 K, one order of magnitude smaller than that of semi-organic ferroelectric triglycine sulphate (TGS) crystal. Moreover, the glycyl-L-alanine HI.H₂O polymorph displays a nonlinear optical effective coefficient of 0.14 pm/V, around 14 times smaller than the value from a phase-matched inorganic barium borate (BBO) single crystal. The new polymorph displays an effective piezoelectric coefficient equal to

d_{e f f} = 280 p C N^{- 1}

, when embedded into electrospun polymer fibers, indicating its suitability as an active system for energy harvesting. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting and Sensing Technology: Materials, Mechanisms, and Applications)

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15 pages, 8411 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Internal Real-Time Microscopic Diagnosis of a Proton Battery Stack during Charging and Discharging

by Chi-Yuan Lee, Chia-Hung Chen, Chin-Yuan Yang and Wan-Ting Chen

Materials 2023, 16(9), 3507; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16093507 - 2 May 2023

Viewed by 1235

Abstract

The proton battery has facilitated a new research direction for technologies related to fuel cells and energy storage. Our R&D team has developed a prototype of a proton battery stack, but there are still problems to be solved, such as leakage and unstable power generation. Moreover, it is unlikely that the multiple important physical parameters inside the proton battery stack can be measured accurately and simultaneously. At present, external or single measurements represent the bottleneck, yet the multiple important physical parameters (oxygen, hydrogen, voltage, current, temperature, flow, and humidity) are interrelated and have a significant impact on the performance, life, and safety of the proton battery stack. This research uses micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology to develop a micro oxygen sensor and integrates the six-in-one microsensor that our R&D team previously developed in order to improve sensor output and facilitate overall operation by redesigning the incremental mask and having this co-operate with a flexible board for sensor back-end integration, completing the development of a flexible seven-in-one (oxygen, hydrogen, voltage, current, temperature, flow, and humidity) microsensor. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting and Sensing Technology: Materials, Mechanisms, and Applications)

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25 pages, 4714 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Vibration Analysis of a Unimorph Nanobeam with a Dielectric Layer of Both Flexoelectricity and Piezoelectricity

by Ali Naderi, Tran Quoc-Thai, Xiaoying Zhuang and Xiaoning Jiang

Materials 2023, 16(9), 3485; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16093485 - 30 Apr 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1478

Abstract

In this study, for the first time, free and forced vibrational responses of a unimorph nanobeam consisting of a functionally graded base, along with a dielectric layer of both piezoelectricity and flexoelectricity, is investigated based on paradox-free local/nonlocal elasticity. The formulation and boundary conditions are attained by utilizing the energy method Hamilton’s principle. In order to set a comparison, the formulation of a model in the framework of differential nonlocal is first presented. An effective implementation of the generalized differential quadrature method (GDQM) is then utilized to solve higher-order partial differential equations. This method can be utilized to solve the complex equations whose analytic results are quite difficult to obtain. Lastly, the impact of various parameters is studied to characterize the vibrational behavior of the system. Additionally, the major impact of flexoelectricity compared to piezoelectricity on a small scale is exhibited. The results show that small-scale flexoelectricity, rather than piezoelectricity, is dominant in electromechanical coupling. One of the results that can be mentioned is that the beams with higher nonlocality have the higher voltage and displacement under the same excitation amplitude. The findings can be helpful for further theoretical as well as experimental studies in which dielectric material is used in smart structures. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting and Sensing Technology: Materials, Mechanisms, and Applications)

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20 pages, 854 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigating Electromechanical Buckling Response of FG-GPL-Reinforced Piezoelectric Doubly Curved Shallow Shells Embedded in an Elastic Substrate

by Fatemah H. H. Al Mukahal, Mohammad Alakel Abazid and Mohammed Sobhy

Materials 2023, 16(8), 2975; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16082975 - 8 Apr 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1452

Abstract

This work reports the investigations of the electric potential impacts on the mechanical buckling of the piezoelectric nanocomposite doubly curved shallow shells reinforced by functionally gradient graphene platelets (FGGPLs). A four-variable shear deformation shell theory is utilized to describe the components of displacement. The present nanocomposite shells are presumed to be rested on an elastic foundation and subject to electric potential and in-plane compressive loads. These shells are composed of several bonded layers. Each layer is composed of piezoelectric materials strengthened by uniformly distributed GPLs. The Halpin–Tsai model is employed to calculate the Young’s modulus of each layer, whereas Poisson’s ratio, mass density, and piezoelectric coefficients are evaluated based on the mixture rule. The graphene components are graded from one layer to another according to four different piecewise laws. The stability differential equations are deduced based on the principle of virtual work. To test the validity of this work, the current mechanical buckling load is analogized with that available in the literature. Several parametric investigations have been performed to demonstrate the effects of the shell geometry elastic foundation stiffness, GPL volume fraction, and external electric voltage on the mechanical buckling load of the GPLs/piezoelectric nanocomposite doubly curved shallow shells. It is found that the buckling load of GPLs/piezoelectric nanocomposite doubly curved shallow shells without elastic foundations is reduced by increasing the external electric voltage. Moreover, by increasing the elastic foundation stiffness, the shell strength is enhanced, leading to an increase in the critical buckling load. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting and Sensing Technology: Materials, Mechanisms, and Applications)

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18 pages, 6635 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Bioinspired Cyclic Dipeptide Functionalized Nanofibers for Thermal Sensing and Energy Harvesting

by Daniela Santos, Rosa M. F. Baptista, Adelino Handa, Bernardo Almeida, Pedro V. Rodrigues, Ana R. Torres, Ana Machado, Michael Belsley and Etelvina de Matos Gomes

Materials 2023, 16(6), 2477; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16062477 - 21 Mar 2023

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2356

Abstract

Nanostructured dipeptide self-assemblies exhibiting quantum confinement are of great interest due to their potential applications in the field of materials science as optoelectronic materials for energy harvesting devices. Cyclic dipeptides are an emerging outstanding group of ring-shaped dipeptides, which, because of multiple interactions, self-assemble in supramolecular structures with different morphologies showing quantum confinement and photoluminescence. Chiral cyclic dipeptides may also display piezoelectricity and pyroelectricity properties with potential applications in new sources of nano energy. Among those, aromatic cyclo-dipeptides containing the amino acid tryptophan are wide-band gap semiconductors displaying the high mechanical rigidity, photoluminescence and piezoelectric properties to be used in power generation. In this work, we report the fabrication of hybrid systems based on chiral cyclo-dipeptide L-Tryptophan-L-Tryptophan incorporated into biopolymer electrospun fibers. The micro/nanofibers contain self-assembled nano-spheres embedded into the polymer matrix, are wide-band gap semiconductors with

4.0 eV

band gap energy, and display blue photoluminescence as well as relevant piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties with coefficients as high as

57 {CN}^{- 1}

and

35 \times 10^{- 6} {Cm}^{- 2} K^{- 1}

, respectively. Therefore, the fabricated hybrid mats are promising systems for future thermal sensing and energy harvesting applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting and Sensing Technology: Materials, Mechanisms, and Applications)

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Review

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28 pages, 7594 KiB

Open AccessReview

Ceramic-Based Dielectric Materials for Energy Storage Capacitor Applications

by Srinivas Pattipaka, Yeseul Lim, Yong Hoon Son, Young Min Bae, Mahesh Peddigari and Geon-Tae Hwang

Materials 2024, 17(10), 2277; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17102277 - 11 May 2024

Viewed by 1189

Abstract

Materials offering high energy density are currently desired to meet the increasing demand for energy storage applications, such as pulsed power devices, electric vehicles, high-frequency inverters, and so on. Particularly, ceramic-based dielectric materials have received significant attention for energy storage capacitor applications due to their outstanding properties of high power density, fast charge–discharge capabilities, and excellent temperature stability relative to batteries, electrochemical capacitors, and dielectric polymers. In this paper, we present fundamental concepts for energy storage in dielectrics, key parameters, and influence factors to enhance the energy storage performance, and we also summarize the recent progress of dielectrics, such as bulk ceramics (linear dielectrics, ferroelectrics, relaxor ferroelectrics, and anti-ferroelectrics), ceramic films, and multilayer ceramic capacitors. In addition, various strategies, such as chemical modification, grain refinement/microstructure, defect engineering, phase, local structure, domain evolution, layer thickness, stability, and electrical homogeneity, are focused on the structure–property relationship on the multiscale, which has been thoroughly addressed. Moreover, this review addresses the challenges and opportunities for future dielectric materials in energy storage capacitor applications. Overall, this review provides readers with a deeper understanding of the chemical composition, physical properties, and energy storage performance in this field of energy storage ceramic materials. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting and Sensing Technology: Materials, Mechanisms, and Applications)

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24 pages, 6880 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Review of Ultrathin Piezoelectric Films

by Bingyue Li, Zude Xie, Hanzhong Liu, Liming Tang and Keqiu Chen

Materials 2023, 16(8), 3107; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16083107 - 14 Apr 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2227

Abstract

Due to their high electromechanical coupling and energy density properties, ultrathin piezoelectric films have recently been intensively studied as key materials for the construction of miniaturized energy transducers, and in this paper we summarize the research progress. At the nanoscale, even a few atomic layers, ultrathin piezoelectric films have prominent shape anisotropic polarization, that is, in-plane polarization and out-of-plane polarization. In this review, we first introduce the in-plane and out-of-plane polarization mechanism, and then summarize the main ultrathin piezoelectric films studied at present. Secondly, we take perovskite, transition metal dichalcogenides, and Janus layers as examples to elaborate the existing scientific and engineering problems in the research of polarization, and their possible solutions. Finally, the application prospect of ultrathin piezoelectric films in miniaturized energy converters is summarized. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting and Sensing Technology: Materials, Mechanisms, and Applications)

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