Thermal Energy Harvesting Using Pyroelectric-Electrochemical Coupling in Ferroelectric Materials

Electrochemical applications such as H2 generation, waste water degradation, and toxic gas decomposition or oxidation are important routes to achieve environmental sustainability and initiate new green technologies. With their potential for harvesting low-grade waste thermal energy from industrial processes and the ambient environment, pyroelectrics can play a key role in energy generation from thermal fluctuations and act as a charge or voltage source for electrochemical applications. The coupling of pyroelectric and electrochemical effects offers a novel approach in controlling electrochemical applications based on the change of polarization of a material with temperature. However, current experimental work has yet to pay significant attention on the potential benefit of operating near the Curie temperature of a ferroelectric or pyroelectric catalyst, since in this temperature region the pyroelectric properties are often maximized. As a result, we have focused here on the fundamental understanding and key progress on coupling pyroelectric effects with electrochemistry in terms of the materials examined by both modelling and experiments, their performance for thermal energy harvesting, their potential applications, and the advantages and disadvantages of two main configurations for pyro-electro-chemical systems. We also discuss future opportunities and challenges by highlighting strategies for the development of efficient pyro-electrochemical processes with improved efficiency and enhanced thermal energy harvesting capabilities.