The continuing need for reduced power requirements for small electronic components, such as wireless sensor networks, has prompted renewed interest in recent years for energy harvesting technologies capable of capturing energy from ambient vibrations and heat. This presentation provides an overview of piezoelectric harvesting system along with the closely related sub-classes of pyroelectrics and ferroelectrics. These properties are, in many cases, present in the same material, providing the intriguing prospect of a material that can harvest energy from multiple sources including vibration and thermal fluctuations. Examples of modeling and manufacture of porous materials and pyroelectric harvesting are discussed where the harvesting generates power from temperature fluctuations using piezoelectric materials such as lead zirconate titanate (PZT). The potential of novel porous and sandwich structures are also described. Water-splitting using pyroelectric materials are examined analytically and experimentally.
Christopher Rhys Bowen has a BSc degree in Materials Science from the University of Bath (1986-1990) and a DPhil in Ceramics from the University of Oxford (1990-1993). Post-doctoral work has been undertaken at Tecnische Universität Harburg-Hamburg and University of Leeds (1994-1996). He was Senior Scientist at the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency from 1996-1998. He joined the University of Bath as a Lecturer in 1998 and is now Professor of Materials. He has recently completed a role as ERC Advanced Investigator, ERC Grant Agreement no. 320963 on Novel Energy Materials, Engineering Science and Integrated Systems (NEMESIS). Research areas include energy harvesting, piezoelectric materials and functional ceramics.