The novel layered structures comprising piezoelectric polymer and magnetoactive elastomer (MAE) were developed and investigated. The influence of iron particles content in the elastomeric layer, its thickness and Young’s modulus of silicone on the multiferroic properties of the structures were analyzed. The investigation included the experimental and numerical characterization of the magnetoelectric effect. The giant values of bending deformations of MAEs in the external gradient magnetic field led to giant values of induced voltage (up to nearly 650 mV) in the composite. The displacement of ferromagnetic particles inside the elastomeric matrix under gradient magnetic field became the main basis for numerical modelling. The molecular dynamic method, ‘virtual springs’ method and Verlet algorithm were used to obtain the results of the numerical experiment. The energy transformation and magnetic field response in the novel composite allow it to be used in sensors and energy-harvesting devices.

Multilayered magnetoelectric materials are of great interest for investigations due to their unique tuneable properties and giant values of magnetoelectric effect. The flexible layered structures consisting of soft components can reveal lower values of the resonant frequency for the dynamic magnetoelectric effect appearing in bending deformation mode. The double-layered structure based on the piezoelectric polymer polyvinylidene fluoride and a magnetoactive elastomer (MAE) with carbonyl iron particles in a cantilever configuration was investigated in this work. The gradient AC magnetic field was applied to the structure, causing the bending of the sample due to the attraction acting on the magnetic component. The resonant enhancement of the magnetoelectric effect was observed. The main resonant frequency for the samples depended on the MAE properties, namely, their thickness and concentration of iron particles, and was 156–163 Hz for a 0.3 mm MAE layer and 50–72 Hz for a 3 mm MAE layer; the resonant frequency depended on bias DC magnetic field as well. The results obtained can extend the application area of these devices for energy harvesting.

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