Open AccessFlexophotovoltaic Effect in Potassium Sodium Niobate/Poly(Vinylidene Fluoride‐Trifluoroethylene) Nanocomposite
Author(s) -
Wang Chenchen,
Zhang Yang,
Zhang Bowen,
Wang Bo,
Zhang Jinxi,
Chen LongQing,
Zhang Qiming,
Wang Zhong Lin,
Ren Kailiang
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
advanced science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.388
H-Index - 100
ISSN - 2198-3844
DOI - 10.1002/advs.202004554
Subject(s) - nanocomposite , flexoelectricity , materials science , pyroelectricity , ferroelectricity , polarization (electrochemistry) , photovoltaic effect , composite material , optoelectronics , dielectric , piezoelectricity , photovoltaic system , chemistry , electrical engineering , engineering
Flexoelectricity is an electromechanical coupling effect in which electric polarization is generated by a strain gradient. In thisinvestigation, a potassium sodium niobite/poly(vinylidene fluoride‐trifluoroethylene) (KNN/PVDF‐TrFE)‐based nanocomposite is fabricated, and the flexoelectric effect is used to enhance the photovoltaic current ( I pv ) in the nanocomposite. It is found that both a pyroelectric current and photovoltaic current can be generated simultaneously in a light illumination process. However, the photovoltaic current ( I pv ) in this process contributes ≈85% of the total current. When assessing the effect of flexoelectricity with a curvature of 1/20, the I pv of the curved KNN/PVDF‐TrFE (20%) (K/P‐20) composite increased by ≈13.9% compared to that of the flat K/P‐20 nanocomposite. Similarly, at a curvature of 1/20, the I pv of the K/P‐20 nanocomposite is 71.6% higher than that of the PVDF‐TrFE film. However, the photovoltaic effect induced by flexoelectricity is much higher than the increased polarization from flexoelectricity, so this effect is called as the flexophotovoltaic effect. Furthermore, the calculated energy conversion efficiency of the K/P‐20 film is 0.017%, which is comparable to the previous research result. This investigation shows great promise for PVDF‐based nanocomposites in ferroelectric memory device applications.