  Poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) based
pyroelectric as well as magnetoelectric materials offer great promises for
energy harvesting for flexible and wearable applications. Hence, this work
focus on solar energy harvesting as well as magnetoelectric phenomenon in two
phase nanocomposite film where the constituting phases are manganese ferrite
(MnFe2O4) nanoparticles and P(VDF-TrFE) polymer. Composite films have been
prepared using solution casting technique. X-ray diffraction result shows
higher crystallinity of these films. The ferroelectric, magnetic and
magnetoelectric properties in variation with applied field and volume
percentage of ferrite nanoparticles have been investigated. The preparation
condition was optimized in such a way that it results improved ferroelectric
polarization of nanocomposite film after incorporation of small amount of
ferrite nanoparticles. The maximum magnetoelectric-coupling coefficient of
about 156 mV/Oe-Cm was obtained for optimum nanocomposite film when DC bias
field was applied perpendicular to electric polarization direction. From a
pyroelectric device perspective, solar energy harvesting is also reported. An
open circuit voltage of 5V and short circuit current of order of ~1 nA is
demonstrated without any pre amplification. Hence, the combination of
magnetoelectric and pyroelectric properties of nanocomposite film presented
here indicate as a perfect candidate for smart materials, spintronics devices
and specified magnetoelectric-based applications.
