Multiferroic magnetoelectric (ME) materials with the capability of coupling magnetization and electric polarization have been providing diverse routes towards functional devices and thus attracting ever-increasing attention. The typical device applications include sensors, energy harvesters, magnetoelectric random access memory, tunable microwave devices and ME antenna etc. Among those application scenarios, ME sensors are specifically focused in this review article. We begin with an introduction of materials development and then recent advances in ME sensors are overviewed. Engineering applications of ME sensors were followed and typical scenarios are presented. Finally, several remaining challenges and future directions from the perspective of sensor designs and real applications are included.

In this work, we theoretically and experimentally report a NdFeB magnet/piezoelectric composite cantilever with varying stiffness for enhancing magneto-mechano-electric (MME) coupling under weak AC magnetic field Hac excitation. Measurement results show that the MME composite cantilever can produce a relatively high peak-peak output power of 12.8 mW and a peak-peak current of 0.735 mApp under Hac = 7 Oe at a resonance frequency of 36 Hz. Even when Hac is as low as 0.2 Oe, equivalent to the level of the earth magnetic field, it can still drive 4 LED lighting. The obtained results are obviously superior to previous reports, confirming the MME cantilever harvester has potential to harvest the stray magnetic field energy from electrical power cables for continuously powering wireless sensor networks.

The microenergy harvesting based on magneto‐mechano‐electric (MME) coupling is an emerging technology for powering wireless Internet of Things (IoT) devices because it is capable of simultaneously harvesting magnetic field energy and mechanical energy. However, further improvement in output power of conventional cantilever‐structured MME energy harvesters has met with considerable difficulties due to the inherent, high mechanical energy loss in single‐mode operation. To solve the predicament, here, this work presents a symmetric, mechanical coupled dual‐mode MME energy harvester for restricting clamp loss and then enhancing MME coupling and output power. Under a weak AC magnetic field (Hac = 4 Oe) at 60 Hz, the MME energy harvester operating in symmetric dual‐mode can generate a peak‐peak output power of 72 mWpp (root‐mean‐square value: 9 mWRMS), a 437% enhancement over a conventional single‐mode MME energy harvester, which can even drive 160 light emitting diodes (LEDs) lighting directly. A realistic application furtherly shows that the symmetric dual‐mode MME energy harvester can successfully scavenge the magnetic field energy around a household appliance, and the generated electric power can directly drive a wireless IoT system in real time. The proposed concept of symmetric dual‐mode in this work can open new avenues for future vibration‐based energy harvesters design.

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are regarded as promising cathode materials for zinc‐ion storage owing to their large interlayer spacings. However, their capabilities are still limited by sluggish kinetics and inferior conductivities. In this study, a facile one‐pot solvothermal method is exploited to vertically plant piezoelectric 1T MoSe2 nanoflowers on carbon cloth (CC) to fabricate crystallographically textured electrodes. The self‐built‐in electric field owing to the intrinsic piezoelectricity during the intercalation/deintercalation processes can serve as an additional piezo‐electrochemical coupling accelerator to enhance the migration of Zn2+. Moreover, the expanded interlayer distance (9–10 Å), overall high hydrophilicity, and conductivity of the 1T phase MoSe2 also promoted the kinetics. These advantages endow the tailored 1T MoSe2/CC nanopiezocomposite with feasible Zn2+ diffusion and desirable electrochemical performances at room and low temperatures. Moreover, 1T MoSe2/CC‐based quasi‐solid‐state zinc‐ion batteries are constructed to evaluate the potential of the proposed material in low‐temperature flexible energy storage devices. This work expounds the positive effect of intrinsic piezoelectricity of TMDs on Zn2+ migration and further explores the availabilities of TMDs in low‐temperature wearable energy‐storage devices.