Pyroelectric and electrocaloric characterization has been determined for $0.75\mathrm{Pb}\left({\mathrm{Mg}}_{1∕3}{\mathrm{Nb}}_{2∕3}\right){\mathrm{O}}_3–0.25\mathrm{Pb}\mathrm{Ti}{\mathrm{O}}_3$ relaxor based single crystal and ceramic. Differential scanning calorimetry was used for measuring the electrocaloric response for different electric fields in the vicinity of the Curie temperature. For both ceramic and crystals the maximum activity is found to be around the transition temperature. On the other hand hysteresis loops for different temperatures were used to predict the electrocaloric effect with very good qualitative agreements with direct measurements. Pyroelectric coefficient is found to be much larger for ⟨111⟩ single crystals reaching $1300\times {10}^{-6}\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{m}}^{-2}{\mathrm{K}}^{-1}$ whereas the ceramic reaches only $750\times {10}^{-6}\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{m}}^{-2}{\mathrm{K}}^{-1}$ . Higher pyroelectric coefficient and lower dielectric permittivity lead to outstanding figures of merits for sensors and energy harvesting, with a gain of 260% for voltage responsivity and more than 500% for energy harvesting. Although having a much larger pyroelectric activity, the electrocaloric effect is about the same for crystals and ceramics—around $0.40\mathrm{J}∕\mathrm{g}$ for $2.5\mathrm{kV}∕\mathrm{mm}$ electric field step. This result is interpreted by the decrease of the pyroelectric coefficient for high electric field. The electrocaloric activity is in fact limited by the saturation polarization and difference between Curie transition temperature and the working temperature. Those two parameters are very similar for crystals and ceramics. Single crystals are consequently very interesting materials in the framework of energy harvesting and sensor applications whereas no real improvement of performances can be expected for electrocaloric refrigeration devices.

Energy harvesting from temperature variations in a Pb(Zn_1/3Nb_2/3)_0.955Ti_0.045O₃ single crystal was studied and evaluated using the Ericsson thermodynamic cycle. The efficiency of this cycle related to Carnot cycle is 100 times higher than direct pyroelectric energy harvesting, and it can be as high as 5.5% for a 10degC temperature variation and 2 kV/mm electric field. The amount of harvested energy for a 60degC temperature variation and 2 kV/mm electric field is 242.7 mJmiddotcm^-3. The influence of ferroelectric phase transitions on the energy harvesting performance is discussed and illustrated with experimental results.

Increasing demand in mobile, autonomous devices has made the issue of energy harvesting a particular point of interest. Systems that can be powered up by a few hundreds of microwatts can feature their own energy extraction module, making them truly self-powered. This energy can be harvested from the close environment of the device. Particularly, piezoelectric conversion is one of the most investigated fields for ambient energy harvesting. Moreover, the extraction process can be optimized by proper treatment of the piezomaterial output voltage. This article proposes a detailed explanation of the real energy flow that lies behind several energy conversion techniques for piezoelectric energy scavenging. As well, the principles of energy harvesting using piezoelectric effect is extended to the pyroelectric effect, therefore allowing harvesting energy from temperature variation, which is one of the most common energy sources.