Abstract

This paper provides an overview of ferroelectret materials for energy harvesting applications. These materials take the form of a cellular compliant polymer with polarised pores that provide a piezoelectric response to generate electrical energy as a result of an applied strain or surrounding vibration. The manufacturing processes used to create ferroelectret polymer structures for energy harvesting are discussed, along with the range of microstructural features and pore sizes that are formed. Their important mechanical, electrical and harvesting performance are then described and compared. Modelling approaches for microstructural design or for predicting the vibrational and frequency dependent response are examined. Finally, conclusions and future perspectives for ferroelectret materials for energy harvesting applications are provided.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)118-140
Number of pages23
JournalNano Energy
Volume57
Early online date13 Dec 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2019

Funding

Dr. Y. Zhang and Prof. C. R. Bowen would like to acknowledge the funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007–2013)/ERC Grant Agreement No. 320963 on Novel Energy Materials, Engineering Science and Integrated Systems (NEMESIS). The Leverhulme Trust (project No. RPG-2018-290 ) is acknowledged by Prof. Bowen. Dr Y. Zhang also would like to acknowledge the project (Grant No. 621011812 ) supported by State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy , Central South University, Changsha, China.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
  • General Materials Science
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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