Thermal Energy Harvesting Using Bulk Lead-Free Ferroelectric Ceramics

This article demonstrates the energy harvesting capabilities of bulk lead-free ferroelectric materials using Olsen cycle. Lead-free compositions K[(Nb0.90Ta0.10)(0.99)Mn-0.01]O-3 (KNTM) and 0.5Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.(8))O-3-0.5(Ba0.7Ca0.3)TiO3 (BZT-50BCT) have been explored for their energy harvesting capabilities. Further, we studied the variation in energy density over wide range of applied temperature and electric field. The maximum harness-able energy density for KNTM and BZT-50BCT compositions are found to be 629J/L (629kJ/m(3)) and 87J/L (87kJ/m(3)), respectively. This estimated energy density, obtained for the bulk samples, is comparable with the highest energy density reported to-date (888J/L for lanthanum-doped lead zirconate titanate (8/65/35 PLZT) thick films).