Bio-assembled nanocomposites in conch shells exhibit giant electret hysteresis

Yingbang Yao, Qingxiao Wang, Hongtao Wang, Bei Zhang, Chao Zhao, Zhihong Wang, Zhengkui Xu, Ying Wu, Wei Huang, Pei-Yuan Qian, Xixiang Zhang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

Giant electric polarization (2000-4000 μC cm-2) is observed in natural conch shells. The nanolaminas and biopolymer layers of their unique hierarchical microstructures exhibit ferroelectret behavior and account for the observed polarization. Such huge polarization leads to extremely high pyroelectric coefficients, 2-3 orders of magnitude larger than those of conventional ferroelectric materials. The possibility of tailoring the giant polarization for various applications is considered. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)711-718
Number of pages8
JournalAdvanced Materials
Volume25
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 23 2012

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Mechanics of Materials
  • General Materials Science
  • Mechanical Engineering

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