Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting from a Ferroelectric Hybrid Salt [Ph3MeP]4[Ni(NCS)6] Embedded in a Polymer Matrix

Abstract

Organic–inorganic hybrid ferroelectrics are an exciting class of molecular materials with promising applications in the area of energy and electronics. The synthesis, ferroelectric and piezoelectric energy harvesting behavior of a 3d metal ion‐containing A4BX6 type organic–inorganic hybrid salt [Ph3MeP]4[Ni(NCS)6] (1 ) is now presented. P‐E hysteresis loop studies on 1 show a remnant ferroelectric polarization value of 18.71 μC cm−2, at room temperature. Composite thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) devices with 5, 10, 15 and 20 wt % compositions of 1 were prepared and employed for piezoelectric energy harvesting studies. A maximum output voltage of 19.29 V and a calculated power density value of 2.51 mW cm−3 were observed for the 15 wt % 1 ‐TPU device. The capacitor charging experiments on the 15 wt % 1 ‐TPU composite device shows an excellent energy storage performance with the highest stored energies and measured charges of 198.8 μJ and 600 μC, respectively.