Pyroelectric Responses of Wurtzite ZnS Ceramics: Some Preliminary Results

At a time of climate emergency and the scarcity of fossil fuels, pyroelectric energy harvesting could be the right methodology to rescue some of the enormous quantities of energy wasted as heat. This technology is able to convert thermal fluctuation into electrical energy by using a pyroelectric device that generates voltage when cyclically heated or cooled down [1].

Here we report on the pyroelectric output registered for a wurtzite phase ZnS ceramic. We created a simple device (a “pyro-cell”): the ceramic sample which has evaporated Au electrodes on both sides is mounted on a Cu-metalized rectangular insulating base (vetronite) using either silver paint or conductive epoxy glue; the electrical connection is provided by tiny Cu wires that are welded to the sample and the vetronite base using tin alloy. This device is stable from room temperature up to approximately 180°C. Two different heating and cooling testing set-ups were used to heat and cool the ZnS sample: Set-up n°1 used an industrial scale laser, providing a fast temperature change, and Set-up n°2 had a standard lab hot plate heating element, providing a much slower temperature change.

Acknowledgements:

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 797951.