Piezoelectricity for energy harvesting and sensors

• Grant number: 18/15736-6
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Visiting Researcher Grant - International
• Start date: February 03, 2019
• End date: February 20, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Condensed Matter Physics
• Principal Investigator: Clarissa de Almeida Olivati
• Grantee: Clarissa de Almeida Olivati
• Visiting researcher: Roger Clive Hiorns
• Visiting researcher institution: Institut des Sciences Analytiques et de Physico-Chimie pour l’Environnement et les Matériaux (IPREM), France
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (FCT). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Presidente Prudente. Presidente Prudente , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 14/50869-6 - INCT 2014: on Organic Electronics, AP.TEM

Abstract

Discovered in 1880, piezoelectricity is enjoying a huge renascence due to its applicability to energy harvesting. For many years, limited to sensory systems such as sonar, and more recently, AFM this technology, capable of creating small amounts of electricity from vibrational mechanical energy is now targeting applications where stand-alone devices are required, for example, in pressure sensors and personal electronics, cars, aircraft, and biomedics. Piezoelectricity is the generation of electric dipoles in materials with non-symmetrical crystal structures by the application of a mechanical strain, and arises with shear or expansive vibrations, surface elastic waves, and complex bulk waves. The extent of dipole alignment influences the resulting output tension, and can vary from mV to several hundred volts for small devices. After Dr. Hiorns' visit to our laboratories in 2017, research began to explore the morphological effects of the piezoelectric material to extend the delivery of current over long periods - to see if internal capacitance effects can be exploit to this end. It is expected that careful control over the structure of the material, for example through the use of Langmuir films and electro-spinning, will make longer term current generation possible. (AU)