Effect of pore volume fraction on energy-harvesting capabilities of freeze-casted porous 0.63[Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3]–0.37[PbTiO3] ceramic

Abstract

Despite the excellent electromechanical properties of relaxor ferroelectric 0.63[Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3]–0.37[PbTiO3] (0.63PMN-0.37PT), the energy-harvesting capabilities of freeze-casted porous of this material remained unexplored. Therefore, in this study, 3-1-type freeze-casted porous 0.63PMN-0.37PT samples with different porosity contents were fabricated and their voltage output (Vout), piezoelectric voltage coefficient (g33), and energy-harvesting figure of merit (FOM33) were determined. The results demonstrated that Vout increased with the applied force across all porosity levels. It also increased when the porosity increased to 30.5 vol.%, but changed insignificantly with an increase in the porosity from 30.5 to 51.5 vol.%. However, it again increased considerably when the porosity increased beyond 51.5 vol.%. The values of g33 and FOM33 for the freeze-casted porous 0.63PMN-0.37PT were almost 50 % higher than those for porous samples of other piezoceramics reported in the literature. Therefore, this study suggests that freeze-casted porous 0.63PMN-0.37PT is a potential option for energy-harvesting applications. © 2025 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l.