Marco Aurélio Pinto Silva

Energy Harvesting From Piezoelectric Materials Fully Integrated in Footwear

In the last few years, there has been an increasing demand for low-power and portable-energy sources due to the development and mass consumption of portable electronic devices. Furthermore, the portable-energy sources must be associated with environmental issues and imposed regulations. These demands support research in the areas of portable-energy generation methods. In this scope, piezoelectric materials become a strong candidate for energy generation and storage in future applications. This paper describes the use of piezoelectric polymers in order to harvest energy from people walking and the fabrication of a shoe capable of generating and accumulating the energy. In this scope, electroactive ß-polyvinylidene fluoride used as energy harvesting element was introduced into a bicolor sole prepared by injection, together with the electronics needed to increase energy transfer and storage efficiency. An electrostatic generator was also included in order to increase energy harvesting.

Optimization of the Magnetoelectric Response of Poly(vinylidene fluoride)/Epoxy/Vitrovac Laminates

The effect of the bonding layer type and piezoelectric layer thickness on the magnetoelectric (ME) response of layered poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/epoxy/Vitrovac composites is reported. Three distinct epoxy types were tested, commercially known as M-Bond, Devcon, and Stycast. The main differences among them are their different mechanical characteristics, in particular the value of the Young modulus, and the coupling with the polymer and Vitrovac (Fe39Ni39Mo4Si6B12) layers of the laminate. The laminated composites prepared with M-Bond epoxy exhibit the highest ME coupling. Experimental results also show that the ME response increases with increasing PVDF thickness, the highest ME response of 53 V·cm(-1)·Oe(-1) being obtained for a 110 μm thick PVDF/M-Bond epoxy/Vitrovac laminate. The behavior of the ME laminates with increasing temperatures up to 90 °C shows a decrease of more than 80% in the ME response of the laminate, explained by the deteriorated coupling between the different layers. A two-dimensional numerical model of the ME laminate composite based on the finite element method was used to evaluate the experimental results. A comparison between numerical and experimental data allows us to select the appropriate epoxy and to optimize the piezoelectric PVDF layer width to maximize the induced magnetoelectric voltage. The obtained results show the critical role of the bonding layer and piezoelectric layer thickness in the ME performance of laminate composites.

The Role of Solvent Evaporation in the Microstructure of Electroactive β-Poly(Vinylidene Fluoride) Membranes Obtained by Isothermal Crystallization

Electroactiveβ-poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membranes were obtained by isothermal crystallization from the solution. Different morphologies and microstructures were obtained by crystallizing at different temperatures. The mechanism and kinetics of solvent evaporation from the polymeric solution were investigated using isothermal thermogravimetric analysis. The kinetic parameters and the activation energy were also calculated. The solvent evaporation is ruled by two steps, related with a metastable– unstable–metastable transition in the solution phase diagram. Scanning electron microscopy revealed the porous structure and the variations of the morphology with the variation of the isothermal evaporation temperature. Finally, the infrared spectroscopy measurements confirm that the polymer crystallizes in the electroactiveβ-phase of PVDF.

Energy harvesting device based on a metallic glass/PVDF magnetoelectric laminated composite

A flexible, low-cost energy-harvesting device based on the magnetoelectric (ME) effect was designed using Fe64Co17Si7B12 as amorphous magnetostrictive ribbons and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) as the piezoelectric element. A 3 cm-long sandwich-type laminated composite was fabricated by gluing the ribbons to the PVDF with an epoxy resin. A voltage multiplier circuit was designed to produce enough voltage to charge a battery. The power output and power density obtained were 6.4 μW and 1.5 mW cm−3, respectively, at optimum load resistance and measured at the magnetomechanical resonance of the laminate. The effect of the length of the ME laminate on power output was also studied: the power output exhibited decays proportionally with the length of the ME laminate. Nevertheless, good performance was obtained for a 0.5 cm-long device working at 337 KHz within the low radio frequency (LRF) range.

Electronic optimization for an energy harvesting system based on magnetoelectric Metglas/poly(vinylidene fluoride)/Metglas composites

Harvesting magnetic energy from the environment is becoming increasingly attractive for being a renewable and inexhaustible power source, ubiquitous and accessible in remote locations. In particular, magnetic harvesting with polymer-based magnetoelectric (ME) materials meet the industry demands of being flexible, showing large area potential, lightweight and biocompatibility. In order to get the best energy harvesting process, the extraction circuit needs to be optimized in order to be useful for powering devices. This paper discusses the design and performance of five interface circuits, a full-wave bridge rectifier, two Cockcroft–Walton voltage multipliers (with 1 and 2 stages) and two Dickson voltage multipliers (with 2 and 3 stages), for the energy harvesting from a Fe61.6Co16.4Si10.8B11.2 (Metglas)/polyvinylidene fluoride/Metglas ME composite. Maximum power and power density values of 12 μW and 0.9 mW cm−3 were obtained, respectively, with the Dickson voltage multiplier with two stages, for a load resistance of 180 kΩ, at 7 Oe DC magnetic field and a 54.5 kHz resonance frequency. Such performance is useful for microdevice applications in hard-to-reach locations and for traditional devices such as electric windows, door locking, and tire pressure monitoring.

Improved magnetodielectric coefficient on polymer based composites through enhanced indirect magnetoelectric coupling

Flexible particulate composites with general formula [xCoFe2O4]/[(1 − x) (Polyvinylidene fluoride)] were prepared for x = 0, 3, 11, and 20 wt. %. The dielectric constant, dielectric loss, and saturation magnetization of the composites increase with the increasing CoFe2O4 content, being 13, 0.13, and 13 emu g−1, respectively, for x = 20. The change in the dielectric response (magnetodielectric effect (%)) is the highest among all the reported polymer-based composites for the x = 20 sample (4.2%), and on the contrary, the highest value of the magnetodielectric coefficient (γ) is higher on the x = 3 sample (0.015 emu−2 g2). Such features have large application potential in areas such as filters, magnetic field sensors and actuators, among others.

Optimized anisotropic magnetoelectric response of Fe61.6Co16.4Si10.8B11.2/PVDF/Fe61.6Co16.4Si10.8B11.2 laminates for AC/DC magnetic field sensing

The authors thank the FCT- Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia- for financial support under project PTDC/EEI-SII/5582/2014. P.M., S.R. and M.S. acknowledges also support from FCT (SFRH/BPD/96227/2013, SFRH/BDE/406 51542/2011 and SFRH/BD/70303/2010 grants respectively). This work was also supported by Avel-electronica Lda, Trofa, Portugal. J.G., A.L. and S.L.M. thank financial support from the Basque Government Industry Department under the ELKARTEK Program. SLM also thanks the Diputacion de Bizkaia for financial support under the Bizkaia Talent program.

Synthesis and characterization of novel piezoelectric nitrile copolyimide films for high temperature sensor applications

A series of amorphous polyimides and copolyimides that contained nitrile were obtained by a two-step procedure. The first step consisted of a polycondensation reaction of 4,4’-oxydiphtalic anhydride (ODPA) with one or two aromatic diamines, namely 1,3-Bis-2-cyano-3-(3-aminophenoxy)phenoxybenzene (diamine 2CN) and 1,3-Bis(3-aminophenoxy)benzene (diamine 0CN). In the second step, a thermal cyclodehydration converted each poly(amic acid) or copoly(amic acid) into their corresponding polyimide films. The piezoelectric response was improved after corona poling of the films. A maximum d33 modulus value of 16 pC N−1 was obtained for the polymide with two cyano groups (poly 2CN). The polarization also showed time and thermal stability up to 160 °C. Additionally, the thermal stability of the amorphous polyimides, (β-CN)APB/ODPA, was studied by determining the glass transition temperature (T g ) and thermal decomposition through differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TG), respectively. The high piezoelectric response (1–16 pC N−1), T g (160–180 °C) and degradation temperature (315–450 °C) make such polyamides excellent candidates for use as high temperature sensors.

Fabrication and Characterization of High-Performance Polymer-Based Magnetoelectric DC Magnetic Field Sensors Devices

The development of a DC magnetic field sensor based on a magnetoelectric (ME) PVDF/Metglas composite is reported. The ME sensing composite has an electromechanical resonance frequency close to 25.4 kHz, a linear response (r² = 0.997) in the 0–2 Oe DC magnetic field range, and a maximum output voltage of 112 mV (ME voltage coefficient α₃₃ of ≈30 V·cm⁻¹·Oe⁻¹). By incorporating a charge amplifier, an AC-RMS converter and a microcontroller with an on-chip analog-to-digital converter, the ME voltage response is not distorted, the linearity is maintained, and the ME output voltage increases to 3.3 V (α_33effective = 1000 V·cm⁻¹·Oe⁻¹). The sensing device, including the readout electronics, has a maximum drift of 0.12 Oe with an average total drift of 0.04 Oe, with a sensitivity of 1.5 V·Oe⁻¹ (15 kV·T⁻¹), and a 70 nT resolution. This feature is for the first time reported on a polymer-based ME device and compares favourably with a reference Hall sensor that showed a maximum drift of 0.07 Oe and an average error of 0.16 Oe, 5 V·T⁻¹ sensitivity, and 2 μT resolution. Such properties allied to the accurate measurement of the DC magnetic field (H_DC) in the 0–2 Oe range make this polymer-based device very attractive for applications, such as Earth magnetic field sensing, digital compasses, navigation, and magnetic field anomaly detectors, among others.

Silk Fibroin Separators: A Step Toward Lithium-Ion Batteries with Enhanced Sustainability.

Battery separators based on silk fibroin (SF) have been prepared aiming at improving the environmental issues of lithium-ion batteries. SF materials with three different morphologies were produced: membrane films (SF-F), sponges prepared by lyophilization (SF-L), and electrospun membranes (SF-E). The latter materials presented a suitable porous three-dimensional microstructure and were soaked with a 1 M LiPF6 electrolyte. The ionic conductivities for SF-L and SF-E were 1.00 and 0.32 mS cm-1 at 20 °C, respectively. A correlation between the fraction of β-sheet conformations and the ionic conductivity was observed. The electrochemical performance of the SF-based materials was evaluated by incorporating them in cathodic half-cells with C-LiFePO4. The discharge capacities of SF-L and SF-E were 126 and 108 mA h g-1, respectively, at the C/2-rate and 99 and 54 mA h g-1, respectively, at the 2C-rate. Furthermore, the capacity retention and capacity fade of the SF-L membrane after 50 cycles at the 2C-rate were 72 and 5%, respectively. These electrochemical results show that a high percentage of β-sheet conformations were of prime importance to guarantee excellent cycling performance. This work demonstrates that SF-based membranes are appropriate separators for the production of environmentally friendlier lithium-ion batteries.