Energy conversion and storage in functional dielectrics.

Functional dielectrics are a group of materials possessing interesting electro-active behaviors, such as variable permittivity, high breakdown strength, ferroelectricity, piezoelectricity, and pyroelectricity, resulting from their capacity to generate and respond to electric fields in a nonlinear manner. These properties make them highly desirable for energy conversion and storage applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]