Roll‐to‐Roll (R2R) Production of Ultrasensitive, Flexible, and Transparent Pressure Sensors Based on Vertically Aligned Lead Zirconate Titanate and Graphene Nanoplatelets

Abstract

Despite extensive advances in the use of piezoelectric materials in flexible electronics, they have numerous shortcomings, including low efficiency, limited flexibility, and lack of transparency. Additionally, the production of these materials is often limited to small batch processes which are difficult to scale up for mass production. A novel method to produce ultrasensitive, high performance, flexible, and transparent piezoelectric materials where both lead zirconate titanate nanoparticles, and graphene nanoplatelets are aligned together in polydimethylsiloxane under an AC electric field in the thickness (“Z”) direction, is reported here for the first time. The electric field alignment improves the piezoelectric response along with transparency and also reduces the amount of filler required to achieve outstanding piezoelectric properties. The resulting ultrasensitive piezoelectric film is able to sense the pressure of a bird feather (1.4 mg) dropped from a certain distance, whereas at the touch of a fingertip, it can generate up to 8.2 V signal. Moreover, the mass production compatibility of the system is also demonstrated by producing a 3 m long and 15 cm wide large‐area sample via a novel 44′ long roll‐to‐roll manufacturing line which is designed and developed by the group.

Roll‐to‐Roll (R2R) Production of Large‐Area High‐Performance Piezoelectric Films Based on Vertically Aligned Nanocolumn Forests

“…More details about the aligned piezoelectric PZT/GNPs/PDMS system and as well as the effect of GNPs on the electromechanical output are provided elsewhere. [ 8 ] Likewise, similar observations have also been reported in different studies where randomly dispersed piezoelectric particles were mixed with graphitic fillers (e.g., single or multiwall carbon nanotubes, graphite, etc.) to improve the piezoelectric properties of the resulting composite.…”

“…PNCs not only provide outstanding piezoelectric coefficients, but also exhibit tailorable mechanical properties and ease of processability, which makes them promising candidates for applications where flexibility and tunability are essential. [ 6–13 ] In addition, PNCs can also play a pivotal role in the development of self‐powered micro‐ and nanoscale devices by harvesting wasted kinetic energy from already existing and ubiquitous ambient sources [ 9 ] such as structural vibrations from industrial machinery [ 14,15 ] (e.g., vehicles, motors, etc. ), everyday human activities [ 16–20 ] (e.g., walking, running, breathing, etc.…”

“…One of the strategies to achieve high‐performance 1–3 composites is via electric‐field assisted alignment of piezoelectric phase. [ 8,26–33 ] This technique is based on the dielectrophoresis (DEP) principle and can significantly improve the piezoelectric properties of composites even at low filler concentrations due to the formation of high aspect‐ratio columns, also known as pearl‐chains, in a particular dimension. For instance, alignment of lead zirconate titanate nanowires (PZT NWs) in a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) matrix has been proven to enhance the energy density of the nanocomposite up to 51.6% compared with randomly oriented NWs.…”

In Situ Drift Monitoring and Calibration of Field-Deployed Potentiometric Sensors Using Temperature Supervision

“…In this solution, the weight ratio of the first three ingredients was 15:30:1, and the solvent content was 72−78% by weight of the overall solution. The ISM coating was carried out on a custom-designed coating machine, named “Maxwell” (Model R2R-1, built by Wagner Industries, Inc., Stanhope, NJ). , A custom-made slot-die (50 mm wide with a 0.125 mm opening) was mounted to cast the coatings as strips at the appropriate locations on the printed substrate. Typical process conditions were line speed 100 to 200 mm/min, drying temperature 20 °C, and flow rate 0.3 to 0.85 mL/min.…”

The elasticity and the piezoelectricity of thick composites of silicone rubber matrix and aligned piezoelectric ceramic particles

“…Recently, there is much research on the composite in which the piezoelectric ceramic particles are aligned in a polymer. They have high piezoelectricity and high flexibility [19][20][21]. On the other hand, they can only be formed with the thin film as same as the PVDF.…”