Performance of thin film polyvinylidenefluoride (PVDF) for pyroelectric energy harvesting

Low-grade waste heat and abundantly available thermal energy has the potential to be harvested by the pyroelectric effect. For uniaxial radiative heating we report elliptic temperature profiles in lead zirconium titanate and polyvinylidenefluoride. The geometry, heat diffusion coefficient and pyroelectric coefficient of the material determine the harvesting potential of a pyroelectric generator. At high temperature oscillation frequencies, thin film media performs more effectively than thick media for harvesting.