Coupling of piezoelectric effect with electrochemical processes

Abstract

The coupling effect between piezoelectric polarization and electrochemical processes depicts the engineering of charge-carrier conduction characteristics at the heterojunction between a strained piezoelectric material and a chemical solution. It is a unique subcategory of piezotronics. This mini review paper introduces the fundamental principles of such coupling effects. Applications of this coupling effect are reviewed and discussed in several different aspects, including selective etching enabled by piezo(ferro)-electric polarization; selective (photo)electrochemical deposition directed by piezo(ferro)-electric potential; and the directly utilization of piezoelectric potential to drive electrochemical reactions (piezocatalysis). At the end, perspectives of this coupling effect are discussed as a new approach in the fields of corrosion management, nanomanufacturing and renewable energy conversion.

Advances in Piezo‐Phototronic Effect Enhanced Photocatalysis and Photoelectrocatalysis

“…With the exploration of piezotronics, fast developments have been achieved in transistors, nanogenerators, LEDs and solar cells. [ 2,6 ] The coupling effect between piezoelectric polarization and photoelectric process is a subcategory of piezotronics, which is referred as piezo‐phototronics for using piezoelectric polarization charges to tune/enhance optoelectronic processes. [ 7,8 ] This makes possible the engineering of charge‐carrier characteristics at the heterojunction interface and bulk phase as a result of the built‐in electric field, and provides a driving force for the transport of photoinduced charges (electrons/holes) in designed directions, facilitating their separation and suppressing their recombination.…”

Computation of Electronic Energy Band Diagrams for Piezotronic Semiconductor and Electrochemical Systems

“…These interfaces are studied for use in a wide range of applications, including energy storage (e.g., batteries and capacitors), energy conversion (e.g., photo-electrochemical cells), and materials synthesis (e.g., electrochemical deposition). [27,[32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46] www.advelectronicmat.de Analyzing the semiconductor/insulator/solution interface is similar to the case of the semiconductor/insulator/semiconductor heterojunction except that the expression for charge density will no longer depend on material band gaps and the density of immobile, ionized donor atoms as is the case within semiconductors. Instead, it will depend on the concentration, charge, and size of dissolved charged species in solution.…”

Enabling PIEZOpotential in PIEZOelectric Semiconductors for Enhanced Catalytic Activities

“…Motivated by increasingly serious pollution and depletion of fossil fuels,i ti so fg reat importance to convert various forms of renewable energy,s uch as solar,w ind, tidal, and geothermal energy,i nto applicable and storable chemical energy. [1] Clearly,o ne strategy is to harvest energy by converting abundant chemicals or pollutants on the earth through catalysis into molecules such as H 2 and CH 4 for use as fuels. [2] Theo ther involves the catalytic degradation of pollutants by capitalizing on sustainable energy, [3] in which the heat-(e.g., geothermal) and strain-(e.g., wind and tide) enabled PIEZOelectrics have been utilized in catalysis.…”

“…PIEZOelectrics materials are ac lass of materials with non-centrosymmetric structure,which are capable of enhancing electrochemical or photochemical processes in response to mechanical deformation. [4] They comprise three subsets of materials,that is,piezoelectric,pyroelectric,and ferroelectric materials ( Figure 1). Thef ive capital letters are used in PIEZOelectrics,r epresenting three categories of materials noted above,t od ifferentiate it from the specified piezoelectric materials referring to only one category.Asillustrated in Figure 1, piezoelectrics contain pyroelectrics,a nd pyroelectrics comprise ferroeletrics.Some piezoelectric materials (green) are non-pyroelectric.…”