Hybridization of electrostrictive polymers and electrets for mechanical energy harvesting

The topic of this paper is to propose new means for harvesting energy using electrostrictive polymers and electrets. Recent trends in energy conversion mechanisms have demonstrated the abilities of electrostrictive polymers for converting mechanical vibration into electricity. However, these types of generators need a static electric field in order to function, which render the realization of autonomous systems difficult. The goal of the present research consists in determining the possibility of using electrets in order to produce the static field necessary for harvesting energy through electrostrictive polymers. The contribution of this study resides in the design and validation of hybridization between electrostrictive polymers and electrets for the development of μ-generators. Theoretical analysis supported by experimental investigations shows that it was possible to induce a static field in an electrostrictive polymer using an electret, and the energy-harvesting module conversion enabled scavenging power up to 6.05 nW cm−3 (m m−1)2 with a static electric field of 8000 V/m at 2 Hz.