Enhanced pyroelectric properties of 1–3 nanocomposites achieved by uniaxial stretching

Ceramic-polymer pyroelectric composite materials with favorable flexibility hold great potential for wearable sensors and energy harvesters, and the further improvement in pyroelectric properties would push them closer to practical application. In this work, an uniaxial stretching method was proposed to optimize the performance of lead zirconate titanate nanowires (PZT NWs)/polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) 1–3 composites. With just one stretching treatment, the pyroelectric coefficient of the composite was enhanced by inducing more β phase in PVDF matrix, and the permittivity was decreased by reorientation of PZT NWs to the strain direction in the meantime. As a result of the incorporated effects, the figure of merit of the stretched composite with orientated PZT NWs increases to the value of 2.18 × 10 −10  C cm −2  K −1 , which is 619% higher than that of untreated samples at 35 °C. This work could provide an efficient approach to fabricate high-performance ceramic-polymer pyroelectric composite materials.