Energy-Harvesting Performance in a LaYFe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>6</sub>/P(VDF-HFP) Nanocomposite by Boosting the Magnetoelectric Effect
R. Ghosh, A. Barik, M. R. Sahoo, Subhankar Mishra, Sweta Tiwary, Praveen Kumar Panda, Dalip Saini, Dillip K. Pradhan, P. N. Vishwakarma
Abstract
The present work reports an enhanced magnetoelectric (ME) effect at room temperature (RT) and above in a nanocomposite of LaYFe 2 O 6 /poly(vinylidene fluoride)–hexafluoropropylene [LaYFe 2 O 6 /P(VDF-HFP)], which is prepared by the solution-casting method. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy reveal excellent phase-to-phase connectivity and an enhanced beta-phase fraction in the PVDF matrix by the incorporation of 10 wt % antiferromagnetic nanoparticles (NPs). This is also substantiated by the improved ferroelectric (electric-field-dependent polarization) response by a 10 wt % sample. At RT, this nanocomposite manifests a first-order ME coupling coefficient of ∼2.92 mV cm –1 Oe –1 and a second-order ME coupling coefficient of ∼0.051 μV cm –1 Oe –2 (significantly 1 order higher than that of pristine LaYFe 2 O 6 ). The enhanced ME coefficient at RT and above makes it a viable candidate to address the challenges of ME-based device applications. A flexible, portable, lightweight, cost-effective magnetoelectric nanogenerator (MENG) fabricated from the nanocomposite film is able to harvest the wasted magnetic energy with an efficiency of 1.5%. As a demonstration, the harvested electric energy is stored in a capacitor, which, in turn, is used to power a light-emitting diode (LED). The present work hence suggests the deployment of this material for self-powered wearable devices.