A high-temperature performing and near-zero energy loss lead-free ceramic capacitor

A pivotal obstacle of obtaining dielectric ceramics with large recoverable energy density (Wrec) and ultrahigh energy efficiency (η) desperately needs to be overcome for the development of advanced energy storage devices for high pulsed power systems, especially via an environment-friendly lead-free method. Here we report a series of lead-free dielectric bulk ceramics for high-temperature energy storage capacitors with near-zero energy loss. Confirmed by aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy and phase-field simulation, a judiciously designed heterostructure in which rhombohedral and tetragonal polar nanoregions are embedded in a cubic paraelectric matrix was constructed. The combination of the increased breakdown strength and the minimized polarization hysteresis, respectively, based on the heterostructure design and repeated rolling process, contributes to a large Wrec of 10.28 J cm−3 and a record-high η of 97.11%, superior to the reported lead-free bulk ceramics. Based on such structure-induced advantages, the wide-temperature stability (25–200 °C) and high performance (Wrec ∼ 6.35 ± 9.1% J cm−3, η ∼ 94.82% ± 3.4%) of the dielectric ceramics broaden their application in high temperature energy storage systems. This work conspicuously contributes to the development of the next generation high-temperature capacitors and suggests a new paradigm that may stimulate the development of higher-performance energy storage dielectrics. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube© Royal Society of Chemistry 2024

Keywords

Temperature range, Ceramics, Capacitors, Power, Energy storage, Energy, Energy security

Citation

Li, D., Xu, D., Zhao, W., Avdeev, M., Jing, H., Guo, Y., Zhou, T., Liu, W., Wang, D., & Zhou, D. (2023). A high-temperature performing and near-zero energy loss lead-free ceramic capacitor [10.1039/D3EE01545A]. Energy & Environmental Science, 16(10), 4511-4521. doi:10.1039/D3EE01545A