Thermal Energy Harvesting Using Bulk Lead‐Free Ferroelectric Ceramics

Abstract

This article demonstrates the energy harvesting capabilities of bulk lead‐free ferroelectric materials using Olsen cycle. Lead‐free compositions K [( N b 0.90 T a 0.10 ) 0.99 M n 0.01 ]O 3 ( KNTM ) and 0.5Ba( Z r 0.2 T i 0 . 8 )O 3 ‐0.5( B a 0.7 C a 0.3 ) T i O 3 ( BZT ‐50 BCT ) 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 ‐50 BCT compositions are found to be 629 J/L (629 kJ/m 3 ) and 87 J/L (87 kJ/m 3 ), respectively. This estimated energy density, obtained for the bulk samples, is comparable with the highest energy density reported to‐date (888 J/L for lanthanum‐doped lead zirconate titanate (8/65/35 PLZT) thick films).