Schiff base organic molecular crystals/ferroelectric polymer composite for photo-pyroelectric conversion

Abstract

Materials that can realize photo-electric conversion have received continuous attention. Composite materials constructed from ferroelectric polymers and photoresponsive materials have been demonstrated to generate substantial photo-electric responses and have several important applications, such as sensors and artificial retinal prostheses. However, currently, the photo-electric response of such materials is relatively low. Here, we developed flexible photo-electric conversion composites consisting of Schiff base molecular crystals with photoresponsive and ferroelectric polymers. We investigated the structure–property relationships of the composites and obtained composite materials with strong photo-electric responses over the whole visible light range. The maximum peak-to-peak open-circuit voltage exceeds 80 V, which is significantly superior to that of other photo-electric conversion materials based on ferroelectric polymers. We further demonstrated that the excellent photo-electric response of these composites is mainly due to the coupling of the photothermal effect of Schiff base molecular crystals and the pyroelectric effect of ferroelectric polymers. We have shown that the high photo-pyroelectric response of composite materials can be used to drive electronic devices that require relatively high operating voltages, including liquid crystal displays and electrochromic display devices, indicating their potential applications in energy harvesting and flexible electronics.