• Karla, Surya
• Sharma, Shyam
• Balasubramanian, Ganesh
• Koratkar, Nikhil
• Samuel, Johnson
• Sharma, Prince

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Piezoelectric materials show potential to harvest the ubiquitous, abundant, and renewable energy associated with mechanical vibrations. However, the best performing piezoelectric materials typically contain lead which is a carcinogen. Such lead-containing materials are hazardous and are being increasingly curtailed by environmental regulations. In this study, we report that the lead-free chalcogenide perovskite family of materials exhibits piezoelectricity. First-principles calculations indicate that even though these materials are centrosymmetric, they are readily polarizable when deformed. The reason for this is shown to be a loosely packed unit cell, containing a significant volume of vacant space. This allows for an extended displacement of the ions, enabling symmetry reduction, and resulting in an enhanced displacement-mediated dipole moment. Piezoresponse force microscopy performed on BaZrS<jats:sub>3</jats:sub> confirmed that the material is piezoelectric. Composites of BaZrS<jats:sub>3</jats:sub> particles dispersed in polycaprolactone were developed to harvest energy from human body motion for the purposes of powering electrochemical and electronic devices.</jats:p>

Topics

• perovskite
• impedance spectroscopy
• composite
• microscopy
• piezoelectric material