Pyroelectric Nanogenerator Based on an SbSI–TiO(2) Nanocomposite

For the first time, a composite of ferroelectric antimony sulfoiodide (SbSI) nanowires and non-ferroelectric titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) nanoparticles was applied as a pyroelectric nanogenerator. SbSI nanowires were fabricated under ultrasonic treatment. Sonochemical synthesis was performed in the presence of TiO(2) nanoparticles. The mean lateral dimension d(a) = 68(2) nm and the length L(a) = 2.52(7) µm of the SbSI nanowires were determined. TiO(2) nanoparticles served as binders in the synthesized nanocomposite, which allowed for the preparation of dense films via the simple drop-casting method. The SbSI–TiO(2) nanocomposite film was sandwiched between gold and indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes. The Curie temperature of T(C) = 294(2) K was evaluated and confirmed to be consistent with the data reported in the literature for ferroelectric SbSI. The SbSI–TiO(2) device was subjected to periodic thermal fluctuations. The measured pyroelectric signals were highly correlated with the temperature change waveforms. The magnitude of the pyroelectric current was found to be a linear function of the temperature change rate. The high value of the pyroelectric coefficient p = 264(7) nC/(cm(2)·K) was determined for the SbSI–TiO(2) nanocomposite. When the rate of temperature change was equal dT/dt = 62.5 mK/s, the maximum and average surface power densities of the SbSI–TiO(2) nanogenerator reached 8.39(2) and 2.57(2) µW/m(2), respectively.