Structural behaviors of lead zirconate titanate-based ferroelectric ceramics during pyroelectric-power generation cycles

Kawasaki, Takuro   ; Fukuda, Tatsuo  ; Yamanaka, Satoru*; Murayama, Ichiro*; Kato, Takanori*; Baba, Masaaki*; Hashimoto, Hideki*; Harjo, S.   ; Aizawa, Kazuya  ; Tanaka, Hirohisa*; Takeda, Masatoshi*; Sekino, Toru*; Nakayama, Tadachika*; Kim, Y.*

Energy harvesting from waste heat can improve energy efficiency in society. This research investigated the structural behaviors of lead zirconate titanate-based ferroelectric ceramics using operando neutron diffraction measurements under the conditions of two energy-harvesting cycles that involve consideration of the temperature changes of automobile exhaust gas for achieving good harvesting efficiencies. Input and output electrical energies and neutron diffraction data were simultaneously collected. The obtained time-resolved neutron-diffraction intensity data indicate that the applied electric fields and temperature changes induced 90 domain rotation and lattice strain. These structural changes and their variations depending on cycle conditions, such as temperature changes, applied electric fields, and circuit switching, provide insight into the origins of the differences in the behaviors of electrical input/output energies in the cycles.