Vertically aligned lead Titanate Nanowire arrays for high temperature energy harvesting

Alireza Nafari, Christopher C. Bowland, Henry A. Sodano

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Over the past few decades, the increasing demand for selfpowered devices has led to an immense amount of research in the field of energy harvesting from renewable mechanica l energies. Often, most of these abundant energy sources are wasted in the form of structural vibrations, acoustic waves or impact energy. Recently, nano-electromechanical systems (NEMS) consisting of piezoelectric nanowires have shown excellent electromechanical coupling coefficients which can efficiently convert small amplitude vibrations into useful electrical energy for compact and low power wireless electronic devices. Specifically, high aspect ratio piezoelectric nanowires have shown to have a better deformability and hence produce higher piezoelectric response to low level induced stress. However, current materials are not well suited for energy harvesting from extreme environments. In this study, ultra-long high aspect ratio vertically aligned lead titanate nanowires (45 μm long, AR = 75) are synthesized through a two-step hydrothermal reaction in which sodium titanate nanowires serve as the precursor. Their application in harvesting vibrational energy at temperatures above 300 °C is demonstrated through the characterization of open circuit voltage and power measurements. The results show that the ultra-long vertically aligned lead titanate nanowire array energy harvester can produce up to 22.3 mW m-2 at room temperature and up to 13 mW m-2 at 375 °C. Thus, it is shown that the energy harvester can provide enough energy density for many self-powered, hightemperature applications.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationIntegrated System Design and Implementation; Structural Health Monitoring; Bioinspired Smart Materials and Systems; Energy Harvesting
PublisherAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineers
ISBN (Electronic)9780791857304
DOIs
StatePublished - 2015
Externally publishedYes
EventASME 2015 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems, SMASIS 2015 - Colorado Springs, United States
Duration: Sep 21 2015Sep 23 2015

Publication series

NameASME 2015 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems, SMASIS 2015
Volume2

Conference

ConferenceASME 2015 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems, SMASIS 2015
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityColorado Springs
Period09/21/1509/23/15

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