Polymeric Energy Harvesting Materials: A Comprehensive Overview

Emerging Materials, Technologies, and Solutions for Energy Harvesting

1.0 Introduction

The importance and scope of applications for polymeric materials have grown substantially in recent years. Among their numerous practical applications, polymeric materials are especially inventive in the field of energy harvesting (Stuart et al., 2010). This chapter conducts a thorough research into these compounds and their critical role in energy harvesting. It is impossible to overstate the significance of polymeric materials in energy harvesting since they offer long-term answers to the world's expanding energy demands. The amazing properties of polymeric materials play an important role in energy harvesting (Mishra et al., 2019). These materials have proved their potential to efficiently convert various types of environmental energy into electrical power, making them a more ecologically friendly and long-lasting alternative to standard power sources. Polymeric materials have shown to be an effective instrument in meeting the urgent worldwide demand for renewable energy (Thavasi et al., 2008). These materials offer tremendous opportunities to generate energy in unique and ecologically friendly ways, whether through organic materials' photovoltaic capabilities, the piezoelectric effect in responsive polymers, or the triboelectricity produced in some polymer-based systems.

Figure 1.

Classification of polymers

(“Introduction to polymers,” 2023)

Polymeric materials are also inexpensive, lightweight, and flexible, which makes them a great option for the creation of energy harvesting technology. Energy harvesting components can be incorporated into a variety of applications, from wearable technology to infrastructural systems, thanks to their flexibility (Zhang et al., 2018). Their importance is further increased by the low production costs and the flexibility to modify their characteristics for particular applications. Polymeric materials have emerged as the lynchpin for energy collecting devices and systems that can move us closer to a greener future as the globe looks for more sustainable energy options. Figure 1 shows polymer classification.

Early explorations of electrical phenomena served as the foundation for the development of polymeric materials in the context of energy harvesting. Pioneers like Thomas Johann Seebeck and Antoine César Becquerel noted the potential for materials to produce electricity when exposed to temperature variations in the 18th century (Zhang et al., 2018). Polymers have established themselves as effective thermoelectric generators as a result of this observation, which served as the impetus for the creation of thermoelectric materials. Piezoelectricity in polymers was discovered in the middle of the 20th century (Fukada, 2000). This discovery opened the ability to transform mechanical strain into electrical energy and sparked the creation of energy harvesting technologies based on piezoelectric polymers. Next the development of organic photovoltaic cells and continued improvements in organic semiconductor materials, the following decades saw the emergence of photovoltaic polymers. These developments cleared the path for the development of polymeric solar cells and their incorporation into numerous uses (Inganäs, 2018).