Piezo-Electrochemical Energy Harvesting with Lithium-Intercalating Carbon Fibers

Abstract

The mechanical and electrochemical properties are coupled through a piezo-electrochemical effect in Li-intercalated carbon fibres. It is demonstrated that this piezo-electrochemical effect makes it possible to harvest electrical energy from mechanical work. Continuous polyacrylonitrile-based carbon fibres that can work both as electrodes for Li-ion batteries and structural reinforcement for composites materials are used in this study. Applying a tensile force to carbon fibre bundles used as Li-intercalating electrodes results in a response of the electrode potential of a few mV which allows, at low current densities, lithiation at higher electrode potential than delithiation. More electrical energy is thereby released from the cell at discharge than provided at charge, harvesting energy from the mechanical work of the applied force. The measured harvested specific electrical power is in the order of 1 µW/g for current densities in the order of 1 mA/g, but this has a potential of being increased significantly.

Structural composites for multifunctional applications: Current challenges and future trends

“…Similarly, there are emerging reports of energy harvesting from piezoelectrochemical effects during lithiation/delithiation of carbon fibers which could operate a low frequencies and already in the battery structure [299]. Output power is at present of the order of 1mW/g [300] but likely to increase as the physics of the process is better understood.…”

A High Efficacy Self‐Charging MoSe2 Solid‐State Supercapacitor Using Electrospun Nanofibrous Piezoelectric Separator with Ionogel Electrolyte

“…[13,14] Hitherto, the utilization of biomechanical energy for the selfcharging system is still in research level, and further efforts are needed to be undertaken for practical applications. [8,[15][16][17] In the former case, the mechanical energy harvester is externally connected to the energy storage device using a rectifier, whereas the latter uses an all-in-one integrated system which will be beneficial for several applications in portable and wearable devices due to their miniaturized size. [2] Up to date two different types of self-charging power cells have been reported such as (i) external powering and (ii) internally integrating the system.…”

“…[2] Up to date two different types of self-charging power cells have been reported such as (i) external powering and (ii) internally integrating the system. [8,[15][16][17] In the former case, the mechanical energy harvester is externally connected to the energy storage device using a rectifier, whereas the latter uses an all-in-one integrated system which will be beneficial for several applications in portable and wearable devices due to their miniaturized size. [18,19] The pulsating alternating current output of nanogenerator is the major concern for the practical application of NG based self-charging power cells (SCPCs) due to their low energy conversion efficiency.…”

Varying Power Generation in Ultra Low-Frequency Mechanical Energy Harvesting of Piezoelectrochemical Materials

“…To overcome this limitation, few developments have been made from a new class of materials that exhibit piezoelectrochemical (PEC) phenomena. [11][12][13] The PEC effect converts mechanical energy into electrochemical energy and vice versa through a volume change as a result of an electrochemical reaction. The volume change associated with the PEC effect leads to a variation in energy harvesting properties that depend on electrochemical potential or state of charge (SOC) of the PEC material.…”

“…14 Recent developments in PEC energy harvesting show promising results however, they lack studies in the diversity of PEC materials or overlook the feasibility of PEC energy harvesting over an extended period of time for applications where power-output control is required. [11][12][13] In this paper we use various PEC material systems and characterize their energy harvesting behavior. From three different types of PEC cells, we investigate the relationship between the coupling of mechanical stress and voltage, at varying SOCs.…”