Nanostructured Piezoelectric Energy Harvesters

This book covers a range of devices that use piezoelectricity to convert mechanical deformation into electrical energy and relates their output capabilities to a range of potential applications. Starting with a description of the fundamental principles and properties of piezo- and ferroelectric materials, where applications of bulk materials are well established, the book shows how nanostructures of these materials are being developed for energy harvesting applications. The authors show how a nanostructured device can be produced, and put in context some of the approaches that are being investigated for the development of nanostructured piezoelectric energy harvesting devices, also known as nanogenerators. There is growing interest in strategies for energy harvesting that use a variety of existing and well-known materials in new morphologies or architectures. A key change of morphology to enable new functionality is the nanostructuring of a material. One area of particular interest is self-powered devices based on portable energy harvesting. The charging of personal electronic equipment and other small-scale electronic devices such as sensors is a highly demanding environment that requires innovative solutions. The output of these so-called nanogenerators is explained in terms of the requirements for self-powered applications. The authors summarise the range of production methods used for nanostructured devices, which require much lower energy inputs than those used for bulk systems, making them more environmentally friendly and also compatible with a wide range of substrate materials.

Over the past decade, ZnO as an important II-VI semiconductor has attracted much attention within the scientific community over the world owing to its numerous unique and prosperous properties. This material, considered as a “future material”, especially in nanostructural format, has aroused many interesting research works due to its large range of applications in electronics, photonics, acoustics, energy and sensing. The bio-compatibility, piezoelectricity & low cost fabrication make ZnO nanostructure a very promising material for energy harvesting.

The transformation of vibrations into electric energy through the use of piezoelectric devices is an exciting and rapidly developing area of research with a widening range of applications constantly materialising. With Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting, world-leading researchers provide a timely and comprehensive coverage of the electromechanical modelling and applications of piezoelectric energy harvesters. They present principal modelling approaches, synthesizing fundamental material related to mechanical, aerospace, civil, electrical and materials engineering disciplines for vibration-based energy harvesting using piezoelectric transduction. Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting provides the first comprehensive treatment of distributed-parameter electromechanical modelling for piezoelectric energy harvesting with extensive case studies including experimental validations, and is the first book to address modelling of various forms of excitation in piezoelectric energy harvesting, ranging from airflow excitation to moving loads, thus ensuring its relevance to engineers in fields as disparate as aerospace engineering and civil engineering. Coverage includes: Analytical and approximate analytical distributed-parameter electromechanical models with illustrative theoretical case studies as well as extensive experimental validations Several problems of piezoelectric energy harvesting ranging from simple harmonic excitation to random vibrations Details of introducing and modelling piezoelectric coupling for various problems Modelling and exploiting nonlinear dynamics for performance enhancement, supported with experimental verifications Applications ranging from moving load excitation of slender bridges to airflow excitation of aeroelastic sections A review of standard nonlinear energy harvesting circuits with modelling aspects.

Metal oxide nanoparticles exhibit potential applications in energy and environmental fields, such as solar cells, fuel cells, hydrogen energy, and energy storage devices. This book covers all points from synthesis, properties, and applications of transition metal oxide nanoparticle materials in energy storage and conversion devices. Aimed at graduate-level students and researchers associated with the energy and environment sector, this book addresses the application of nontoxic and environmentally friendly metal oxide materials for a clean environment and deals with synthesis properties and application metal oxides materials for energy conversion, energy storage, and hydrogen generation.

Multifunctional Piezoelectric Oxide Nanostructures: Fabrication Methods, Devices and Applications reviews multifunctional piezoelectric oxides, including their growth, thin films, composite films, interfacial doping effects, energy harvesting devices, and battery-free sensors. The book bridges the connection between the theoretical and experimental aspects of piezoelectric oxides, also explaining the pathways between materials-device designs-application sectors through various state-of-the-art techniques. Other sections cover the desirable properties of piezoelectric oxides, including pyroelectric, magnetoelectric, piezoelectrochemical and electrocaloric. This book is suitable for those working in the field of materials science and engineering in academia and research and development. Reviews fundamentals, materials, technologies and applications of piezoelectric oxide nanostructures Addresses the most relevant applications in sensing (self-powered, biomedical, MEMS, infrared) and energy harvesting Discusses the growth, design and fabrication of piezoelectric oxide nanostructured materials for desirable properties

Hybrid Materials for Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting and Conversion Power small devices more efficiently and practically with these essential materials Piezoelectric energy harvesting is an increasingly widely-deployed technique to generate electricity from mechanical energy. Reliability, ease of use, and cleanliness make piezoelectric energy harvesting in small electronic devices a potentially valuable alternative to the practical challenges and waste production of disposable or even reusable batteries. However, piezoelectric materials have their own challenges, advantages, and limitations, and choosing between them is a difficult engineering problem in itself; hybrid piezoelectric materials, which can be used to compensate the weaknesses of individual piezoelectric materials (like ceramic or polymer), are the emerging solution. Hybrid Materials for Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting and Conversion offers a systematic analysis of these hybrid piezoelectric materials and their applications. Each hybrid piezoelectric material is analyzed for its fundamentals, structural requirements, and applications, and the result is a significant contribution to materials science and electronic engineering. Hybrid Materials for Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting and Conversion readers will also find: Comprehensive coverage of piezoelectric materials to provide the best fit for any set of engineering needs Detailed discussion of inorganic, organic, and hybrid piezoelectric materials Surface modification of piezoelectric filler in composite based piezoelectric materials Importance of semiconductive and conductive materials in enhancing piezoelectric response of hybrid piezoelectric materials In depth analysis of bio-based hybrid piezoelectric materials Hybrid Materials for Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting and Conversion is ideal for researchers in materials sciences, polymers, textiles, green and renewable energy, and all related fields.

Mechanical Design of Piezoelectric Energy Harvesters: Generating Electricity from Human Walking provides the state-of-the-art, recent mechanical designs of piezoelectric energy harvesters based on piezoelectric stacks. The book discusses innovative mechanism designs for energy harvesting from multidimensional force excitation, such as human walking, which offers higher energy density. Coverage includes analytical modeling, optimal design, simulation study, prototype fabrication, and experimental investigation. Detailed examples of their analyses and implementations are provided. The book's authors provide a unique perspective on this field, primarily focusing on novel designs for PZT Energy harvesting in biomedical engineering as well as in integrated multi-stage force amplification frame. This book presents force-amplification compliant mechanism design and force direction-transmission mechanism design. It explores new mechanism design approaches using piezoelectric materials and permanent magnets. Readers can expect to learn how to design new mechanisms to realize multidimensional energy harvesting systems. Provides new mechanical designs of piezoelectric energy harvesters for multidimensional force excitation Contains both theoretical and experimental results Fully supported with real-life examples on design, modeling and implementation of piezoelectric energy harvesting devices

Engineered Polymer Nanocomposites for Energy Harvesting Applications looks at materials engineering, characterization and design aspects of mechanical energy harvesting devices for superior performance. Tapping into electrical energy from various mechanical stimuli, such as stress, elongation, tension and vibration has been getting substantial research attention, however, there are many challenges associated with the development energy harvesters with efficient conversion capabilities. This title consolidates a broad spectrum of material engineering and devices design research into one resource and will be an invaluable reference for those working in this field. Provides an interdisciplinary book focused on the engineering of high performance polymer-based nanocomposites and design strategies of high performance energy harvesting Written by leading researchers in the field of materials science, polymer science and nanotechnology from industry, academia, government and private research institutions across the globe Includes broad coverage of specific analytical techniques that will assist researchers to solve fundamental and applied problems in the development of materials for energy harvesting applications