Pyroelectric Nanogenerators Research Articles

Recent Advances in Flexible Self-Powered Sensors in Piezoelectric, Triboelectric, and Pyroelectric Fields

The rise of the Internet of things has catalyzed extensive research in the realm of flexible wearable sensors. In comparison with conventional sensor power supply methods that are reliant on external sources, self-powered sensors offer notable advantages in wearable comfort, device structure, and functional expansion. The energy-harvesting modes dominated by piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENGs), triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), and pyroelectric nanogenerators (PyENGs) create more possibilities for flexible self-powered sensors. This paper meticulously examines the progress in flexible self-powered devices harnessing TENG, PENG, and PyENG technologies and highlights the evolution of these sensors concerning the material selection, pioneering manufacturing techniques, and device architecture. It also focuses on the research progress of sensors with composite power generation modes. By amalgamating pivotal discoveries and emerging trends, this review not only furnishes a comprehensive portrayal of the present landscape but also accentuates avenues for future research and the application of flexible self-powered sensor technology.

Advancements in Bio-inspired Self-Powered Wireless Sensors: Materials, Mechanisms, and Biomedical Applications.

The rapid maturation of smart city ecosystems is intimately linked to advances in the Internet of Things (IoT) and self-powered sensing technologies. Central to this evolution are battery-less sensors that are critical for applications such as continuous health monitoring through blood metabolites and vital signs, the recognition of human activity for behavioral analysis, and the operational enhancement of humanoid robots. The focus on biosensors that exploit the human body for energy-spanning wearable, attachable, and implantable variants has intensified, driven by their broad applicability in areas from underwater exploration to biomedical assays and earthquake monitoring. The heart of these sensors lies in their diverse energy harvesting mechanisms, including biofuel cells, and piezoelectric, triboelectric, and pyroelectric nanogenerators. Notwithstanding the wealth of research, the literature still lacks a holistic review that integrates the design challenges and implementation intricacies of such sensors. Our review seeks to fill this gap by thoroughly evaluating energy harvesting strategies from both material and structural perspectives and assessing their roles in powering an array of sensors for myriad uses. This exploration offers a comprehensive outlook on the state of self-powered sensing devices, tackling the nuances of their deployment and highlighting their potential to revolutionize data gathering in autonomous systems. The intent of this review is to chart the current landscape and future prospects, providing a pivotal reference point for ongoing research and innovation in self-powered wireless sensing technologies.

Layered-Double-Hydroxide (LDH) pyroelectric nanogenerators

Layered Double Hydroxides (LDHs) have outstanding properties, including straightforward fabrication and connection of high-density arrays of aligned nanostructures on almost every (e.g., large area and flexible) substrates, high surface-to-volume ratios, biocompatibility, flame retardancy and several degrees of freedom (divalent and trivalent cations, trivalent/divalent cations ratio, intercalated anions and geometries) for tuning their properties as well as their band diagrams. Nevertheless, LDH pyroelectric devices have never been reported. Here we suggest that LDHs can be ideal building blocks for pyroelectric nanogenerators because of high gradients of both composition and energy-levels, size effects and extraordinary simplicity of fabrication and tuning. For validation, we fabricated several LDH nanoplatelets pyroelectric nanogenerators and found that, without any poling, the equivalent pyroelectric coefficients can be positive, up to 150 µC/(K*m2), or negative, down to – 160 µC/(K*m2), for nanogenerators made of ZnAl LDH or MgAl LDH nanoplatelets, respectively. Beside demonstrating extremely simple and low cost pyroelectric nanogenerators, our results suggest that LDHs are outstanding candidates for high performance pyroelectric nanodevices as, first, the areas of the fabricated devices are orders of magnitude larger than the areas of the nanoplatelet-to-metal junctions and, second, the high number of degrees of freedom of LDHs leaves room for significant improvements.

Properties of Nanogenerator Materials for Energy-Harvesting Application

Advancements in nanotechnology and materials science have led to the development of a variety of nanogenerator materials with improved properties, making energy harvesting technologies increasingly viable for various applications, such as powering wearable devices, remote sensors, and even small electronic gadgets in the future. The evolution of hybrid materials consisting of polymers and nanoparticles as efficient energy harvesters and energy storage devices is in high demand nowadays. Most investigations on organic ferroelectric P(VDF-TrFE) as a polymer host of polymer nanocomposite devices were primally focused on the β phase due to its excellent electrical properties for various application purposes. Nanofiller is also introduced into the polymer host to produce a polymer nanocomposite with enhanced properties. A brief description of various physical quantities related to ferroelectric, dielectric, pyroelectric effects and Thermally Stimulated Current (TSC) for energy harvesting applications in nanogenerator materials is presented. This article explores the different materials and uses of various nanogenerators. It explains the basics of the pyroelectric effect and the structure of pyroelectric nanogenerators (PNGs), as well as recent advancements in micro/nanoscale devices. Additionally, it discusses how the performance of ferroelectric, dielectric, pyroelectric, and TSC are impacted by the annealing treatment of P(VDF-TrFE) polymer.

Recent progress in nanocomposite-oriented triboelectric and piezoelectric energy generators: An overview

The demand for alternative energy is increasing globally, leading to the increased importance of energy harvesting technologies. Research is being conducted on the manufacture of piezoelectric (PENG), triboelectric (TENG) and electromagnetic nanogenerators (EMG), pyroelectric nanogenerators, electrochemical cells and solar cells, which transform thermal, mechanical, magnetic, chemical and solar energy into electrical energy. Furthermore, work is being done to create advanced hybrid systems that can convert multiple forms of energy into electrical energy simultaneously and adapt to different electronic devices and work environments. It is evident that advances in technology are essential for the development of TENGs, whose performance is influenced by the properties of their constituent elements. Fifty-five percent of the published literature focuses on TENGs, with 34.5% focusing on nanocomposites, owing to their improved properties and potential use in the fabrication of TENGs. However, piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENGs) can also enable low-power electronic devices to collect energy from the motions of biological systems. They demonstrate extraordinary piezoelectric capabilities and a higher power density, conversion efficiency and durability than earlier published prototype nanogenerators. Together, the high open circuit voltage (120 V) and low short circuit current (1.95 A) of PENGs result in a high-power density (7091 Vq).

Enhancement of a pyroelectric body energy harvesting scheme employing pulsed electric fields.

This research utilizes waste heat energy as a sustainable energy source to enhance pyroelectric power output by combining pyroelectric nanogenerators with an external pulsed electric field. When the surface temperature of the pyroelectric body varies, applying different pulses of the external electric field results in maximum power accumulation. A novel power-generating experimental setup was developed to measure and compute pyroelectric power generation. A standard Fuji ceramic C-9 sample was used to generate pyroelectric energy in a 20 °C temperature range from 120 to 140 °C. The continuous temperature variation frequency was 0.05Hz, and the pulsed electric field was applied when the temperature rose. Pulses of the electric field with widths of 10, 50, 100, and 200ms were applied to the sample under different pulse amplitudes, and the amplitude of each pulse was 250, 500, 1000, or 1500 V/mm. The maximum power generated through the application of an external pulsed electric field under the above-mentioned conditions was evaluated. This system had the highest power density of 0.204 mJ cm-2 °C-1kV-1. In addition, for the lowest input power, the maximum power generation condition was a 10ms pulse width and an amplitude of 250Vmm-1 in the applied electric field. This state might power smart sensor modules, IoT devices, automobiles, and other waste heat energy applications. Nano-pulse electric field applications may reduce input power to its lowest level, dependent on net-producing power. Therefore, new researchers can use net-generation power efficiency to create a large-scale power source using multiple pyroelectric arrays.

Recent advances of triboelectric, piezoelectric and pyroelectric nanogenerators

Nanogenerators are widely used in harvesting and converting mechanical or thermal energy into electric energy. It is a promising way to capture energy from the surrounding environment as portable power supplies and self-powered systems, offering great versatility and feasibility. Current studies focus on designing nanogenerator structures and materials with high power outputs, multifunctionality and low-cost characteristics. In this review, we will introduce the technological advances of three common nanogenerators, namely, triboelectric, piezoelectric and pyroelectric nanogenerators. The fundamental components, including the working mechanism, structure design, materials selection and main applications, are compared and systematically discussed. Current challenges and future perspectives are highlighted with a focus on offering new insights into developing the next generation nanogenerators that are highly integrated, multifunctional and of upgraded performance.

Improvement of Power Recovery by Applying a Multi-Pulse Electric Field in the Thermoelectric Cycle Power Generation Process with Pyroelectric Materials

Nanogenerator energy harvesting technologies that transform thermal energies into electricity may help address the growing need for green power. Therefore, this research aims to increase power generation by combining waste heat with pyroelectric nanogenerators as a sustainable energy source. Under optimal conditions, an external multi-pulse electric field can be utilized to generate power using thermoelectric cycle power generation. The greatest power may be gathered by applying various pulses of the external electric field at temperature changes on the surface of the pyroelectric materials. To generate pyroelectric power, a C9 BZT sample was used, and the lowest temperature difference for accomplishing this was 20 °C, with all measurements made on a sample with a lower limit of 120 °C. The maximum generation density was 0.104 mJ/cm2°CkV for a pulse width of 10 ms and 20 pulses of a low voltage (250 V/mm) input electric field. A multi-pulse electric field with low input voltage increases the power generation performance ratio (η) with the pulse count. At the largest number of pulses, the greatest η value for 250 V/mm was 7.834. Finally, it was determined that the developed pyroelectric power generation system may be more effective if a low-voltage, multi-pulse electric field is used.

Recent Advances in Energy Harvesting from the Human Body for Biomedical Applications

Energy harvesters serve as continuous and long-lasting sources of energy that can be integrated into wearable and implantable sensors and biomedical devices. This review paper presents the current progress, the challenges, the advantages, the disadvantages and the future trends of energy harvesters which can harvest energy from various sources from the human body. The most used types of energy are chemical; thermal and biomechanical and each group is represented by several nano-generators. Chemical energy can be harvested with a help of microbial and enzymatic biofuel cells, thermal energy is collected via thermal and pyroelectric nano-generators, biomechanical energy can be scavenged with piezoelectric and triboelectric materials, electromagnetic and electrostatic generators and photovoltaic effect allows scavenging of light energy. Their operating principles, power ratings, features, materials, and designs are presented. There are different ways of extracting the maximum energy and current trends and approaches in nanogenerator designs are discussed. The ever-growing interest in this field is linked to a larger role of wearable electronics in the future. Possible directions of future development are outlined; and practical biomedical applications of energy harvesters for glucose sensors, oximeters and pacemakers are presented. Based on the increasingly accumulated literature, there are continuous promising improvements which are anticipated to lead to portable and implantable devices without the requirement for batteries.

Phase transition enhanced pyroelectric nanogenerators for self-powered temperature sensors

Pyroelectric materials are of interest for waste heat utilization and thermal detection. However, the low output current and inefficiency reduces their effectiveness. Here, we utilize the abrupt decrease in polarization of ferroelectric BaTiO3 materials around Curie temperature to improve the output performance of a pyroelectric nanogenerator. The variation of the polarization leads to a large change in the density of surface free charges, resulting in an increase of pyroelectric current. We have designed a temperature control and recording system to realize direct measurement of the pyroelectric output current. The pyroelectric current, power and energy conversion efficiency of the device near the Curie temperature were measured to be 15.6-fold, 18-fold and 15.8-fold higher than those acquired near room temperature. Moreover, the temperature induced current and charge density enhancement can be applied to detect temperature and temperature change. The responsivity of the self-powered temperature sensor near Tc is 120 nC/cm2∙K, which 4.8 times higher than that near room temperature (25.1 nC/cm2∙K). The results confirmed the ability to exploit a ferroelectric phase transition for pyroelectric performance enhancement.

Nanogenerators‐Based Self‐Powered Sensors

AbstractWith the rapid technological development, self‐powered sensor systems that are capable of operating without an external power supply are becoming more and more crucial in the field of sensing and detection. One of the major drawbacks of a typical sensor is the necessity of an external power supply or batteries, which makes sensor systems more complex and less handy for mobile devices. In the last decade's improvement of triboelectric, piezoelectric, pyroelectric, and thermoelectric nanogenerators and their performance in electrical output and mechanical stability, it becomes widely used in the field of self‐power sensing systems for healthcare, mechanical and environmental applications. Here in this review, the various types of nanogenerators working principles is first discussed, the output performance is analyzed, and then their recent progress in the application of self‐powered sensor systems, including biomedical and healthcare, wearable devices, physical applications, robotics, environmental monitoring, and smart cities, is highlighted. Except for the practical application of self‐powered sensors, a future outlook of the self‐powered sensor systems is prognosticated.

Effects of patterned electrode on near infrared light-triggered cesium tungsten bronze/poly(vinylidene)fluoride nanocomposite-based pyroelectric nanogenerator for energy harvesting

Pyroelectric nanogenerators (PyNG) are crucial to convert waste heat into electrical energy. In this study, we develop PyNG device with screen-printed serpentine electrode (SRE) and we modify with cesium tungsten bronze (Cs0.33WO3). We incorporate Cs0.33WO3 into both the electrode and poly(vinylidene)fluoride (PVDF) layers. We investigate effects of Cs0.33WO3 on pyroelectric response and photothermal conversion and electrode pattern effects on the pyroelectric properties. The electrode pattern remarkably improves pyroelectric response in which SRE pattern with width of 2 mm (Sample 2 (S2)) presents the highest electrical current and power. Moreover, the PVDF/Cs0.33WO3 PyNG device possesses outstanding photothermal conversion and pyroelectric response in comparison to PVDF-based PyNG device. Particularly, temperature of the device with 7 wt% Cs0.33WO3 reaches 121 °C and it shows electrical output responses of 4.36 V and 214 nA. It also generates a power density of 23.28 μW/m2 at a loading resistance of 20 MΩ. The electrical energy PyNG device generate power liquid crystal display (LCD) and four light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Our PyNG device presents better pyroelectric properties than that of PyNG device in open literature. This study represents an alternative to design and develop PyNG devices to harvest solar energy.

Phase Transition Enhanced Pyroelectric Nanogenerators for Self-Powered Temperature Sensors

Phase Transition Enhanced Pyroelectric Nanogenerators for Self-Powered Temperature Sensors

Piezoelectric A15B16C17 Compounds and Their Nanocomposites for Energy Harvesting and Sensors: A Review

Interest in pyroelectrics and piezoelectrics has increased worldwide on account of their unique properties. Applications based on these phenomena include piezo- and pyroelectric nanogenerators, piezoelectric sensors, and piezocatalysis. One of the most interesting materials used in this growing field are A15B16C17 nanowires, an example of which is SbSI. The latter has an electromechanical coupling coefficient of 0.8, a piezoelectric module of 2000 pC/N, and a pyroelectric coefficient of 12 × 10−3 C/m2K. In this review, we examine the production and properties of these nanowires and their composites, such as PAN/SbSI and PVDF/SbSI. The generated electrical response from 11 different structures under various excitations, such as an impact or a pressure shock, are presented. It is shown, for example, that the PVDF/SbSI and PAN/SbSI composites have well-arranged nanowires, the orientation of which greatly affects the value of its output power. The power density for all the nanogenerators based upon A15B16C17 nanowires (and their composites) are recalculated by use of the same key equation. This enables an accurate comparison of the efficiency of all the configurations. The piezo- and photocatalytic properties of SbSI nanowires are also presented; their excellent ability is shown by the high reaction kinetic rate constant (7.6 min−1).

The Recent Progress on Halide Perovskite-Based Self-Powered Sensors Enabled by Piezoelectric and Triboelectric Effects

Sensors have recently gathered significant attention owing to the rapid growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) technology for the real-time monitoring of surroundings and human activities. Particularly, recently discovered nanogenerator-based self-powered sensors are potential candidates to overcome the existing problems of the conventional sensors, including regular monitoring, lifetime of a power unit, and portability. Halide perovskites (HPs), with an excellent photoactive nature, dielectric, piezoelectric, ferroelectric, and pyroelectric properties, have been potential candidates for obtaining flexible and self-powered sensors including light, pressure, and temperature. Additionally, the photo-stimulated dielectric, piezoelectric, and triboelectric properties of HPs make them efficient entrants for developing bimodal and multimode sensors to sense multi-physical signals individually or simultaneously. Therefore, we provide an update on the recent progress in self-powered sensors based on pyroelectric, piezoelectric, and triboelectric effects of HP materials. First, the detailed working mechanism of HP-based piezoelectric, triboelectric, and pyroelectric nanogenerators—operated as self-powered sensors—is presented. Additionally, the effect of light on piezoelectric and triboelectric effects of HPs, which is indispensable in multimode sensor application, is also systematically discussed. Furthermore, the recent advances in nanogenerator-based self-powered bimodal sensors comprising HPs as light-active materials are summarized. Finally, the perspectives and continuing challenges of HP-based self-powered sensors are presented with some opportunities for future development in self-powered multimode sensors.

Pyroelectric nanogenerators (PyNGs) in converting thermal energy into electrical energy: Fundamentals and current status

Nowadays, getting energy from natural resources has become an area of interest for researchers with the increasing demand for renewable energy sources. Like triboelectric (TENG) and piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENG), which generate electrical energy from mechanical energy, pyroelectric nanogenerators (PyNG) can also convert the waste heat in the environment into electrical energy through pyroelectric materials. Especially with the integration of PyNG into wearable electronics, the wasted heat in the environment can easily and effortlessly be made ready for use. Besides, PyNGs can be integrated into masks that have become an indispensable part of our lives with the Covid-19 pandemic, which has become a global health problem today and affected the whole world. Wearable electronics' energy requirement can be met by converting waste heat into electrical energy without any extra effort. In this paper, the theory of the pyroelectric effect, pyroelectric materials, and the structure of PyNGs, and the latest developments in micro/nanoscale devices are presented; efficient materials and future challenges opportunities are discussed. • This study is a review on PyNGs and provides a summary of the studies in the literature. • In the article, the electrodes and mechanism of PyNGs are examined in detail. • At the end of the article, suggestions are made for the researchers.

Towards smart cities powered by nanogenerators: Bibliometric and machine learning–based analysis

Nanogenerators have attracted particular attention during the last decade. A nanogenerator harness mechanical or thermal energy to produce electricity without any need for battery. In this paper, general descriptions of different types of nanogenerators, including piezoelectric, triboelectric, and pyroelectric, are presented. Next, bibliometric analysis and unsupervised machine learning–based analysis (principle component analysis) are carried out to determine the trends in this field of science. The current developments and directions for technology commercialization are briefly discussed. Additionally, the output performance and environmental consequences of active materials used in nanogenerators are analyzed by principle component analysis. The analysis reveals China’s sensible investment in the nanogenerator field during the last five years. The number of articles published by Chinese scholars is over 1000 during 2015–2020 with a considerable distance from the USA. It is also deduced that European countries need to pay more attention to this field if they want to compete with the USA, China, and South Korea. Overall, due to the huge amount of waste thermal energy worldwide, more efforts and resources have to be focused and invested in developing pyroelectric nanogenerators. Moreover, there is a need to find low-cost materials having a favorable environmental profile to fabricate nanogenerators.

Recent Progress in Hybridized Nanogenerators for Energy Scavenging.

SummaryAs the world's demand for alternative energy increases, the development of green energy harvesters becomes ever more important. As a result, the creation of triboelectric (TENG), piezoelectric (PENG), and pyroelectric nanogenerators, electromagnetic generators (EMG), solar cells, and electrochemical cells is attracting interest in an effort to convert mechanical, thermal, magnetic, solar, and chemical energy into electricity. In order to take advantage of the ambient energies from our surrounding environment, the design of hybridized generator units that can simultaneously scavenge energy in a variety of forms continues to develop. These systems are being considered to satisfy the energy needs of a range of electronic devices and adapt to a variety of working environments. This review demonstrates the latest progress in hybridized nanogenerators in accordance with their structure, operating principle, and applications. These studies demonstrate new approaches to developing hybrid techniques and novel assemblies for efficiently harvesting environmental energy from a number of sources.

Emerging Pyroelectric Nanogenerators to Convert Thermal Energy into Electrical Energy.

Pyroelectric energy harvesting systems have recently received substantial attention for their potential applications as power generators. In particular, the pyroelectric effect, which converts thermal energy into electrical energy, has been utilized as an infrared (IR) sensor, but upcoming sensor technology that requires a miniscule amount of power is able to utilize pyroelectric nanogenerators (PyNGs) as a power source. Herein, an overview of the progress in the development of PyNGs for an energy harvesting system that uses environmental or artificial energies such as the sun, body heat, and heaters, is provided. It begins with a brief introduction of the pyroelectric effect, and various polymer and ceramic materials based PyNGs are reviewed in detail. Various approaches for developing polymer-based PyNGs and various ceramic materials-based PyNGs are summarized in particular. Finally, challenges and perspectives regarding the PyNGs are described.

Standard and figure-of-merit for quantifying the performance of pyroelectric nanogenerators

Pyroelectric nanogenerators have emerged as an effective approach for the energy of the new-era, the era of internet of things, with a great potential for harvesting waste heat energy. Here, we present the figure-of-merit for quantifying the output of a pyroelectric nanogenertor. The charge-voltage cycle during temperature cycling has been experimentally performed on a PVDF film and PZT ceramic material. Output energy of 2.53 μJ per cycle and 2.59 mJ per cycle is presented at temperature cycling of 23 K (from 300 to 323 K) and 8 K (from 300 to 308 K) for the PVDF and PZT, respectively. The practicability of the derived figure-of-merit as a universal standard for pyroelectric nanogenerator is further experimentally confirmed and compared with previous results. We believe that it could be useful for optimizing the performance of pyroelectric nanogenerators from both material and structural aspects as well as estimating the generated electricity based on maximum temperature cycling.