Achievement of a giant electromechanical conversion coefficient in a molecule-based ferroelectric

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Solid-State Physics
• Chemistry

Background:

• Molecule-based ferroelectrics are explored for flexible self-powered devices like piezoelectric generators (PEGs).
• High electromechanical conversion coefficients (d33 × g33) are crucial for efficient nonresonant PEGs.
• Developing molecule-based ferroelectrics with large coefficients remains a significant challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize a novel molecule-based ferroelectric material.
• To evaluate its potential for high-performance piezoelectric energy harvesting applications.
• To demonstrate enhanced power generation in flexible piezoelectric generators.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of the molecule-based ferroelectric [(CH3)3NCH2CH2Cl][GaBr4] (1).
• Measurement of piezoelectric and electromechanical conversion coefficients.
• Fabrication and testing of piezoelectric generators (PEGs) using the material blended with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS).

Main Results:

• The synthesized material (1) exhibits the largest piezoelectric coefficient (~454 pC N-1) and electromechanical conversion coefficient (4953.1 × 10-12 m2 N-1) for free-standing polycrystalline pellets.
• A PEG incorporating 15 wt% of material (1) and PDMS achieved a power density of 120 μW cm-2.
• This represents the highest reported power density for ferroelectric@PDMS PEGs.

Conclusions:

• The novel molecule-based ferroelectric [(CH3)3NCH2CH2Cl][GaBr4] demonstrates exceptional piezoelectric properties.
• This material significantly enhances the performance of piezoelectric generators, achieving record power densities.
• It holds great promise for developing advanced flexible self-powered electronic devices.