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Preparation and Properties of Novel Energy Storage Materials

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 August 2023) | Viewed by 8763

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Physics and Astronomy Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, NY 10065, USA
Interests: dielectrics and ferroelectrics; dielectric capacitors; defects; photovoltaic films; energy storage materials; ultrafast laser spectroscopy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Qilu University of Technology, Jinan 250353, China
Interests: electronic thin film materials (dielectric, ferroelectric/piezoelectric, multiferroic, etc.) and high performance coatings
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ferroelectric and dielectric capacitors, as compared with batteries and other devices for electrical energy storage, excel in terms of specific power, compactness, cost-effectiveness, charge-discharge speed and temperature stability. These features have led to their use in a broad spectrum of applications in microelectronics and electric power systems.

A capacitor with a high recoverable energy density and energy storage efficiency requires a dielectric material that possesses a high permittivity, low hysteresis loss, low conductivity, and high breakdown field. However, attaining all these properties in a single dielectric material is challenging.

The aim of this Special Issue is to report new findings in dielectric materials related to synthesis, microstructure, properties, device performance and technological applications, including linear dielectrics, paraelectrics, ferroelectrics, relaxor ferroelectrics, superparaelectrics and anti-ferroelectrics. It is widely recognized that multipolar domain ground states are essential in ferroelectric dielectric films, in order to improve the energy storage performance as well as engineerability. A thorough understanding of how the multiple domains and their interactions influence the reduction in remnant polarization and the increase in saturated polarization is key for the analysis of existing and the design of improved innovative structural elements. Most recently, there are many great developments in this direction of research. This field is rapidly advancing into a new area of exciting discoveries and emerging technologies.

Prof. Dr. Yuhang Ren
Prof. Dr. Jun Ouyang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • ferroelectric films
  • dielectric capacitor
  • energy density
  • energy efficiency
  • domain structures
  • structural evolution
  • lead-free
  • polymorphic phase boundary

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 4138 KiB  
Article
Hierarchical CoNiO2 Microflowers Assembled by Mesoporous Nanosheets as Efficient Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction
by Dingfu Zhang, Jiaxin Yao, Jinling Yin, Guiling Wang, Kai Zhu, Jun Yan, Dianxue Cao and Min Zhu
Materials 2023, 16(6), 2204; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16062204 - 09 Mar 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1137
Abstract
In order to alleviate the energy crisis and propel a low-carbon economy, hydrogen (H2) plays an important role as a renewable cleaning resource. To break the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) bottleneck, we need high-efficiency electrocatalysts. Based on the synergistic effect between [...] Read more.
In order to alleviate the energy crisis and propel a low-carbon economy, hydrogen (H2) plays an important role as a renewable cleaning resource. To break the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) bottleneck, we need high-efficiency electrocatalysts. Based on the synergistic effect between bimetallic oxides, hierarchical mesoporous CoNiO2 nanosheets can be fabricated. Combining physical representations with electrochemical measurements, the resultant CoNiO2 catalysts present the hierarchical microflowers morphology assembled by mesoporous nanosheets. The ultrathin two-dimensional nanosheets and porous surface characteristics provide the vast channels for electrolyte injection, thus endowing CoNiO2 the outstanding HER performance. The excellent performance with a fewer onset potential of 94 mV, a smaller overpotential at 10 mA cm−2, a lower Tafel slope of 109 mV dec−1 and better stability after 1000 cycles makes CoNiO2 better than that of metallic Co and metallic Ni. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Preparation and Properties of Novel Energy Storage Materials)
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12 pages, 4355 KiB  
Article
Influence of the Addition of Rare Earth Elements on the Energy Storage and Optical Properties of Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3–0.06BaTiO3 Polycrystalline Thin Films
by Ilham Hamdi Alaoui, Mebarki Moussa, Nathalie Lemée, Françoise Le Marrec, Anna Cantaluppi, Delphine Favry and Abdelilah Lahmar
Materials 2023, 16(6), 2197; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16062197 - 09 Mar 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1194
Abstract
Rare earth element-doped Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3–BaTiO3 (BNT–BT–RE) polycrystalline thin films were processed on a platinized substrate by chemical solution deposition. The microstructure, dielectric, and ferroelectric properties were investigated for all prepared films. It was found that the incorporation [...] Read more.
Rare earth element-doped Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3–BaTiO3 (BNT–BT–RE) polycrystalline thin films were processed on a platinized substrate by chemical solution deposition. The microstructure, dielectric, and ferroelectric properties were investigated for all prepared films. It was found that the incorporation of rare earth elements into the BNT–BT matrix increases both the dielectric constant and the breakdown strength while maintaining low dielectric losses, leading to an enhancement of the energy storage density to Wrec = 12 and 16 J/cm3 under an effective field of E = 2500 kV/cm, for Nd- and Dy-based films, respectively. The optical properties of films containing the lanthanide element were investigated and the obtained results bear interest for luminescence applications. The simultaneous appearance of ferroelectric and optical properties in the system under investigation is very promising for advanced optoelectronic devices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Preparation and Properties of Novel Energy Storage Materials)
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11 pages, 3384 KiB  
Article
Piezoelectric Response and Cycling Fatigue Resistance of Low-Temperature Sintered PZT-Based Ceramics
by Zirui Lin, Zhe Zhu, Zhonghua Yao, Hao Zhang, Hua Hao, Minghe Cao and Hanxing Liu
Materials 2023, 16(4), 1679; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16041679 - 17 Feb 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1444
Abstract
The preparation of low-cost multilayer piezoelectric devices requires using cheap internal electrodes between the dielectric layers. A general strategy is to reduce the sintering temperature Ts of the ceramic layer by sintering aids which can form a liquid phase. Here, 0.2 wt% [...] Read more.
The preparation of low-cost multilayer piezoelectric devices requires using cheap internal electrodes between the dielectric layers. A general strategy is to reduce the sintering temperature Ts of the ceramic layer by sintering aids which can form a liquid phase. Here, 0.2 wt% Li2CO3 was added as a sintering aid to tailor the sinterability and piezoelectricity of the commercial PZT ceramics. As verified from experiments, the piezoelectric ceramics could be densified at a sintering temperature above 940 °C, suitable for co-firing with the cheap internal electrode. The optimized sintering temperature of 980 °C can be confirmed for the 0.2 wt% Li2CO3-modified PZT ceramics due to its high piezoelectric coefficient d33 ~ 701 pC/N, planar coupling factor kp ~ 66.7%, and a low mechanical quality factor Qm ~ 71 with a transition temperature of Tc ~ 226 °C, presenting the characteristics of typical soft piezoelectric ceramics. Moreover, both the potential piezoelectric strain ~0.13% under 20 kV/cm and the good cycling fatigue characteristic (>104 cycles) of the studied piezo compositions indicates strong competitiveness in the field of multilayer piezoelectric devices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Preparation and Properties of Novel Energy Storage Materials)
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9 pages, 2992 KiB  
Article
Microstructural Origin of the High-Energy Storage Performance in Epitaxial Lead-Free Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3 Thick Films
by Jun Ouyang, Xianke Wang, Changtao Shao, Hongbo Cheng, Hanfei Zhu and Yuhang Ren
Materials 2022, 15(19), 6778; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15196778 - 30 Sep 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1038
Abstract
In our previous work, epitaxial Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3 thick films (~1–2 μm) showed an excellent energy storage performance with a large recyclable energy density (~58 J/cc) and a high energy efficiency (~92%), which was attributed to a nanoscale entangled heterophase [...] Read more.
In our previous work, epitaxial Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3 thick films (~1–2 μm) showed an excellent energy storage performance with a large recyclable energy density (~58 J/cc) and a high energy efficiency (~92%), which was attributed to a nanoscale entangled heterophase polydomain structure. Here, we propose a detailed analysis of the structure–property relationship in these film materials, using an annealing process to illustrate the effect of nanodomain entanglement on the energy storage performance. It is revealed that an annealing-induced stress relaxation led to the segregation of the nanodomains (via detailed XRD analyses), and a degraded energy storage performance (via polarization-electric field analysis). These results confirm that a nanophase entanglement is an origin of the high-energy storage performance in the Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3 thick films. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Preparation and Properties of Novel Energy Storage Materials)
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10 pages, 17773 KiB  
Article
Enhanced Energy-Storage Performances in Sodium Bismuth Titanate-Based Relaxation Ferroelectric Ceramics with Optimized Polarization by Tuning Sintering Temperature
by Jianhua Wu, Ziyue Ma, Yuan Yao, Ningning Sun, Ye Zhao, Yong Li, Runchang Liu and Xihong Hao
Materials 2022, 15(14), 4981; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15144981 - 18 Jul 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1320
Abstract
Energy-storage capacitors based on relaxation ferroelectric ceramics have attracted a lot of interest in pulse power devices. How to improve the energy density by designing the structure of ceramics through simple approaches is still a challenge. Herein, enhanced energy-storage performances are achieved in [...] Read more.
Energy-storage capacitors based on relaxation ferroelectric ceramics have attracted a lot of interest in pulse power devices. How to improve the energy density by designing the structure of ceramics through simple approaches is still a challenge. Herein, enhanced energy-storage performances are achieved in relaxation ferroelectric 0.9 (0.94Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3-0.06BaTiO3)-0.1NaNbO3 (NBT-BT-NN) ceramics by tuning sintering temperature. The original observation based on Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) presented that the sintering temperature has a key effect on the electrical homogeneousness of the ceramics. It is found that a high electrical homogeneousness can induce quick and active domain switching due to the weakening of the constraint from built-in fields, resulting in a big polarization difference. This work provides a feasible strategy to design high-performance energy-storage ceramic capacitors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Preparation and Properties of Novel Energy Storage Materials)
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8 pages, 1854 KiB  
Article
Enhanced Energy Storage Properties of La-Doped Sr0.6Ba0.4Nb2O6 Relaxor Ferroelectric Ceramics Prepared by Spark Plasma Sintering
by Yingying Zhao, Xiao Liu, Xiaoyu Zhang and Huiling Du
Materials 2022, 15(12), 4360; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15124360 - 20 Jun 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1388
Abstract
In this work, La-doped Sr0.6Ba0.4Nb2O6 ferroelectric ceramics were fabricated by the conventional solid state reaction method (CS) and spark plasma sintering (SPS), respectively. The microstructure, phase structure, dielectric properties, relaxor behavior, ferroelectric and energy storage properties [...] Read more.
In this work, La-doped Sr0.6Ba0.4Nb2O6 ferroelectric ceramics were fabricated by the conventional solid state reaction method (CS) and spark plasma sintering (SPS), respectively. The microstructure, phase structure, dielectric properties, relaxor behavior, ferroelectric and energy storage properties were investigated and compared to indicate the effects of spark plasma sintering on their performances. The results show that the grain shape changes from columnar to isometric crystal and the grain size decreases obviously after spark plasma sintering. The dielectric constant of the CS sample and the SPS sample both show a typical relaxor behavior with obvious frequency dispersion. The diffusion parameters (γ) of both CS sample and SPS sample are close to 2 and all the samples present slim polarization–electric (P-E) loops, which verify the relaxor behavior. Moreover, the breakdown strength, Eb, and discharge energy storage density, Wrec, of La-doped Sr0.6Ba0.4Nb2O6 ferroelectric ceramics prepared by SPS are improved significantly. This work provides guidance for improving the energy storage performance of ferroelectric ceramics with tungsten bronze structures by decreasing the grain size through adopting a different sintering method. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Preparation and Properties of Novel Energy Storage Materials)
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