Fabrication of soft piezoelectric nanomaterials is essential for the development of wearable and implantable biomedical devices. However, a big challenge in this soft functional material development is to achieve a high piezoelectric property with long‐term stability in a biological environment. Here, a one‐step strategy for fabricating core/shell poly(vinylidene difluoride) (PVDF)/dopamine (DA) nanofibers (NFs) with a very high β‐phase content and self‐aligned polarization is reported. The self‐assembled core/shell structure is believed essential for the formation and alignment of β‐phase PVDF, where strong intermolecular interaction between the NH2 groups on DA and the CF2 groups on PVDF is responsible for aligning the PVDF chains and promoting β‐phase nucleation. The as‐received PVDF/DA NFs exhibit significantly enhanced piezoelectric performance and excellent stability and biocompatibility. An all‐fiber‐based soft sensor is fabricated and tested on human skin and in vivo in mice. The devices show a high sensitivity and accuracy for detecting weak physiological mechanical stimulation from diaphragm motions and blood pulsation. This sensing capability offers great diagnostic potential for the early assessment and prevention of cardiovascular diseases and respiratory disorders.
Implantable
pressure biosensors show great potential for assessment
and diagnostics of pressure-related diseases. Here, we present a structural
design strategy to fabricate core/shell polyvinylidene difluoride
(PVDF)/hydroxylamine hydrochloride (HHE) organic piezoelectric nanofibers
(OPNs) with well-controlled and self-orientated nanocrystals in the
spatial uniaxial orientation (SUO) of β-phase-rich fibers, which
significantly enhance piezoelectric performance, fatigue resistance,
stability, and biocompatibility. Then PVDF/HHE OPNs soft sensors are
developed and used to monitor subtle pressure changes in vivo. Upon implanting into pig, PVDF/HHE OPNs sensors demonstrate their
ultrahigh detecting sensitivity and accuracy to capture micropressure
changes at the outside of cardiovascular walls, and output piezoelectric
signals can real-time and synchronously reflect and distinguish changes
of cardiovascular elasticity and occurrence of atrioventricular heart-block
and formation of thrombus. Such biological information can provide
a diagnostic basis for early assessment and diagnosis of thrombosis
and atherosclerosis, especially for postoperative recrudescence of
thrombus deep within the human body.
Despite the boom in the water‐triggered electric power generation technologies, few attempts have been made with a broader horizonyielding the electricity from sweat, which is of great value for low‐power‐consumption wearable electronics. Here, an electromechanical coupling and humidity‐actuated two‐in‐one humidity actuator‐driven piezoelectric generator (HAPG) are reported, that can yield continuous electric power from fluctuations in the ambient humidity. It is composed of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)‐wrapped highly aligned dopamine (DA)/polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) shell/core nanofibers (PVA@DA/PVDF NFs). As‐received PVA@DA/PVDF NFs can exchange water with the ambient humidity to perform expansion and contraction and convert them into electric power. An all‐fiber‐based portable HAPG is fabricated and tested on human palm skin. The devices show high sensitivity and accuracy for converting the mental sweating‐derived continuous moisture fluctuations into electric power. This electric power can be stored in capacitors, which is expected to power micro‐ and nano‐electronic devices or be used in electrotherapy such as electrical stimulation to promote wound healing. Beyond this, the obtained voltage profiles exhibit unique features that can reflect the typical sweat damping oscillation curve features.
Density functional
theory simulations were carried out to investigate
energetic molecular perovskite (C
6
H
14
N
2
)(NH
2
NH
3
)(ClO
4
)
3
which
was a new type energetic material promising for future application.
The electronic properties, surface energy, and hydrogen bonding of
(100), (010), (011), (101), (111) surfaces were studied, and the anisotropic
impact sensitivity of these surfaces were reported. By comparing the
values of the band gaps for different surface structures, we found
that the (100) surface has the lowest sensitivity, while the (101)
surface was considered to be much more sensitive than the others.
The results for the total density of states further validated the
previous conclusion obtained from the band gap. Additionally, the
calculated surface energy indicated that surface energy was positively
correlated with impact sensitivity. Hydrogen bond content of the surface
structures showed distinct variability according to the two-dimensional
fingerprint plots. In particular, the hydrogen bond content of (100)
surface was higher than that of other surfaces, indicating that the
impact sensitivity of (100) surface is the lowest.
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