Methods to Enhance the Pyroelectric Properties and Energy Harvesting

Pyroelectric materials have recently gained much interest due to their low cost and environment-friendly strategy for energy harvesting. However, the effectiveness of such methods is restricted by the typical properties of lead-free pyroelectric materials. Various methods are discussed to enhance the pyroelectric properties, including doping, composites, porous structure and functionally graded materials. Different techniques for measuring the pyroelectric coefficient and figures of merits responsible for effective energy harvesting are also systematically introduced. Further, numerous approaches for harvesting solar thermal and low-grade energy (temperature of system <230 °C) are considered. Apart from the conventional methods, pyroelectric material embedded with phase change materials and power-enhancing circuits to boost the energy harvested are also discussed.