Growing recyclable and healable piezoelectric composites in 3D printed bioinspired structure for protective wearable sensor

Abstract

Bionic multifunctional structural materials that are lightweight, strong, and perceptible have shown great promise in sports, medicine, and aerospace applications. However, smart monitoring devices with integrated mechanical protection and piezoelectric induction are limited. Herein, we report a strategy to grow the recyclable and healable piezoelectric Rochelle salt crystals in 3D-printed cuttlebone-inspired structures to form a new composite for reinforcement smart monitoring devices. In addition to its remarkable mechanical and piezoelectric performance, the growth mechanisms, the recyclability, the sensitivity, and repairability of the 3D-printed Rochelle salt cuttlebone composite were studied. Furthermore, the versatility of composite has been explored and applied as smart sensor armor for football players and fall alarm knee pads, focusing on incorporated mechanical reinforcement and electrical self-sensing capabilities with data collection of the magnitude and distribution of impact forces, which offers new ideas for the design of next-generation smart monitoring electronics in sports, military, aerospace, and biomedical engineering.

Bibliometric and Visualized Analysis of Piezoelectric Materials in Biomedical Application

“…Therefore, efforts to enhance the capability for conducting sophisticated research and strengthen international communication should be pursued. Analysis reveals that out of the top 15 research institutions that produced the highest number of publications in this field, they were affiliated with the USA (7), China (5), France (1), Italy (1), and India (1), indicating that the level of research in North America, Asia, and Europe may be high. It is worth noting that even though the Georgia Institute of Technology ranked tenth in terms of the number of articles published, it achieved an outstanding citation per article value of 342.…”

“…Piezoelectricity is a fascinating and extensively studied physical property. , The piezoelectric effect was first discovered more than 100 years ago by Cure and Curie, who observed that specific materials generate electrical charges when subjected to mechanical forces . Materials that exhibit piezoelectricity are called piezoelectric materials, which generates electrical charge when it is mechanically deformed (positive piezoelectric effect) and mechanical deformation when an electrical charge is applied (inverse piezoelectric effect) .…”

Review on 3D Printing of Bioinspired Structures for Surface/Interface Applications

“…Biological architectures inspire the design of next-generation interfacial surfaces through specially evolved hierarchical structures with dimensions spanning from the nanoscale to macroscale. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Several living organisms evolved complex structures that exhibit unique interfacial functions such as superhydrophobicity, [9] drag force reduction, [10] anisotropic liquid transportation, [11] fog harvesting, [12] and painless insertion. [13] For example, the multiscale structures of the legs of water striders exhibit outstanding superhydrophobicity, enabling floating on the water surface.…”