Review
Chemistry, Physical
Vincent Consonni, Alex M. Lord
Summary: This review explores the impact of polarity in ZnO nanowires on piezotronic and piezoelectric devices, highlighting the importance of controlling and utilizing nanowire polarity through chemical bath deposition to enhance device performance.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Ping-Che Lee, Yu-Liang Hsiao, Jit Dutta, Ruey-Chi Wang, Shih-Wen Tseng, Chuan-Pu Liu
Summary: This study explores the use of porous ZnO thin films to enhance the output voltage and sensitivity of piezoelectric nanogenerators. The presence of pores leads to lattice contraction in the c-direction, resulting in improved performance. Transmission electron microscopy characterizations confirm the mechanism behind the enhancements.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Di Guo, Pengwen Guo, Yuan Yao, Lele Ren, Mengmeng Jia, Wei Wang, Yulong Wang, Yufei Zhang, Aifang Yu, Junyi Zhai
Summary: This study demonstrates the significant enhancement of flexoelectric potential and flexotronics in single crystal silicon strips through bending, with the rate of change in Schottky barrier height increasing as the material becomes thinner. The flexoelectric polarization direction can be tuned by changing the bending direction. The working mechanism of flexoelectricity induced by the synergistic contribution of the surface piezoelectric effect and bulk flexoelectric effect is elucidated theoretically.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Fengping Peng, Haozhen Li, Wanxin Xu, Huihua Min, Zhenxuan Li, Feihu Li, Xiaogu Huang, Wei Wang, Chunhua Lu
Summary: By optimizing the piezoelectric potential, it was found that micro ZnO rods can exhibit excellent piezoelectric catalytic performance, and a phenomenon of field-controlling selective adsorption was discovered. These findings help improve the catalytic efficiency and stability of ZnO.
APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jit Dutta, Chuan-Pu Liu
Summary: Developing low power, multi-functional devices is crucial for the internet of things. In this study, a flexible multi-dimensional strain sensor was developed using ZnO thin film-based terminals. The sensor successfully detected different types of strains and showed asymmetric behavior under bending strains and symmetric behavior under compressive loads. Furthermore, the same device demonstrated ternary logic operations. This research presents a unique and simple design for flexible piezo-gated devices with applications in strain sensing and low power logic operations.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xiaoting Zhang, Jose Villafuerte, Vincent Consonni, Jean-Fabien Capsal, Pierre-Jean Cottinet, Lionel Petit, Minh-Quyen Le
Summary: Due to the excellent coupling between piezoelectric and semiconducting properties of zinc oxide nanowires, ZnO NW-based structures show great potential in various applications. The proposed piezoelectric composite consisting of vertically aligned ZnO NW arrays and an insulating polymer matrix has been optimized for enhanced piezoelectric sensitivity and high sensing abilities. Experimentally and theoretically, the developed material demonstrates promising results for medical applications, particularly for the FFR technique.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jose Villafuerte, Xiaoting Zhang, Eirini Sarigiannidou, Fabrice Donatini, Odette Chaix-Pluchery, Laetitia Rapenne, Minh-Quyen Le, Lionel Petit, Julien Pernot, Vincent Consonni
Summary: Piezoelectric devices made of ZnO nanowires have attracted great interest as potential nanogenerators and sensors in the past decade. However, their characteristics are limited by the screening effect of the piezoelectric potential generated under mechanical solicitations. To address this issue, we developed the compensatory Sb doping of ZnO nanowires and achieved significant incorporation of Sb dopants.
Article
Electrochemistry
Sonali Verma, Prerna Mahajan, Bhavya Padha, Aamir Ahmed, Sandeep Arya
Summary: The development of an efficient mechanical to electric energy conversion system and its integration with an energy storage device for self-powered portable devices is an advanced research field. This study proposes a self-charging asymmetric piezo-supercapacitor using zinc oxide nanoparticles as piezoelectric material, achieving high cyclic stability and voltage generation through compressive force.
ELECTROCHIMICA ACTA
(2023)
Article
Crystallography
Linda Serairi, Yamin Leprince-Wang
Summary: This study demonstrates a piezoelectric nanogenerator based on ZnO nanowire array, which can convert mechanical energy into electricity. The performance of the nanogenerator has been tested in compression and vibration modes.
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
R. Rianyoi, R. Potong, A. Ngamjarurojana, A. Chaipanich
Summary: Lead-free piezoelectric ceramic BNT-BT/PC composites were fabricated and investigated for sensor applications in structural health monitoring. The optimal ceramic content for acoustic impedance matching and piezoelectric performance was found to be approximately 40-60 vol.%. The composites showed good compatibility with concrete structures and potential for use as sensors.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE-MATERIALS IN ELECTRONICS
(2021)
Article
Mathematics, Applied
Wanli Yang, Jinxi Liu, Yizhan Yang, Yuantai Hu
Summary: This study investigates the propagation of elastic waves in piezoelectric semiconductors under static biasing fields. Two coupling waves between electric fields and charge carriers are found, one stimulated by polarized electric fields on charge carriers and the other stimulated by initial electric fields in biasing fields on dynamic carriers. The latter is a tunable wave-carrier interaction. The study shows that the dynamic performance of the wavefront can be changed by the biasing fields, with the interplay between the two coupling waves. The findings provide guidance for theoretical analysis, practical application, and design of piezotronic devices.
APPLIED MATHEMATICS AND MECHANICS-ENGLISH EDITION
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Vladislav A. Sharov, Alexey M. Mozharov, Vladimir V. Fedorov, Andrey Bogdanov, Prokhor A. Alekseev, Ivan S. Mukhin
Summary: In this study, we investigate the Raman response of extremely strained gallium phosphide nanowires and analyze new strain-induced spectral phenomena. We propose a research tool to precisely localize the electric field distribution in the nanophotonic resonator based on our findings.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Chunyu Yang, Jianying Ji, Yujia Lv, Zhou Li, Dan Luo
Summary: This paper systematically reviews the mechanism and classification of piezoelectric materials, as well as their applications in cell, tissue, sensing, and repair indicator monitoring in the process of bone regeneration.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Hongrui Zhang, Guo Tian, Da Xiong, Tao Yang, Shen Zhong, Long Jin, Boling Lan, Lin Deng, Shenglong Wang, Yue Sun, Weiqing Yang, Weili Deng
Summary: In this work, the regulatory effect of the barrier layer in ZnO-based piezoelectric devices is studied through surface engineering, resulting in a significant improvement in the output performance. The regulation mechanism of the ZnO-Cu2O p-n heterojunction devices on piezoelectric output is revealed.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2022)
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Jie Jiang, Saloni Pendse, Lifu Zhang, Jian Shi
Summary: The possibility of generating elastic strain in low-dimensional materials has led to numerous scientific and technological breakthroughs. Low-dimensional binary oxides have demonstrated unique advantages in elastic strain engineering and have achieved significant milestones. This article reviews the progress and provides reports and analyses in this field.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
I Carlomagno, I Lucarini, V Secchi, F. Maita, D. Polese, S. Mirabella, G. Franzo, A. Notargiacomo, G. Di Santo, S. Gonzalez, L. Petaccia, L. Maiolo
Summary: ZnO nanorods can be enhanced in their optical and conductive performances through Excimer Laser Annealing (ELA), which results in reducing crystallite size and lattice parameter, improving UV/visible emission ratio, and increasing carrier mobility.
APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Maria Luisa Grilli, Daniele Valerini, Antonella Rizzo, Mehmet Yilmaz, Chen Song, Guohang Hu, Alexey Mikhaylov, Rosa Chierchia, Antonio Rinaldi
Summary: The study deposited thin Al2O3 films (150 nm thick) on Si substrates using ALD and sputtering, followed by annealing at 900 degrees C for 90 min in N-2 atmosphere. The annealed coatings exhibited higher hardness, with the ALD coating showing the highest hardness (18.8 GPa), indicating clear trends of stiffening and hardening associated with different processes and postprocessing methods.
PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI A-APPLICATIONS AND MATERIALS SCIENCE
(2022)
Review
Energy & Fuels
Erika Stracqualursi, Giuseppe Pelliccione, Salvatore Celozzi, Rodolfo Araneo
Summary: Fast-front transients are crucial in the insulation design of power systems. However, there is no consensus on tower models and their quantitative effects on insulation design. This review aims to present the available tower models, particularly lumped/distributed circuit models, in order to provide a deeper understanding of them.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Agostino Occhicone, Raffaella Polito, Francesco Michelotti, Michele Ortolani, Leonetta Baldassarre, Marialilia Pea, Alberto Sinibaldi, Andrea Notargiacomo, Sara Cibella, Francesco Mattioli, Pascale Roy, Jean-Blaise Brubach, Paolo Calvani, Alessandro Nucara
Summary: The growing need for new surface sensing methods has led to interest in the electromagnetic excitations of ultrathin films. Bloch surface waves (BSW) have been found to be a valid alternative to surface plasmon polaritons for high-sensitivity sensors in the visible spectral range. In this work, we demonstrate the first infrared BSWs at cryogenic temperatures using a one-dimensional photonic crystal. Additionally, we show that the proposed BSW-based sensor has a high sensitivity for detecting nanometer-thick ice layers. Bloch surface wave-based sensors are a new class of surface mode-based sensors with potential applications in materials science.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Noemi Fiaschini, Chiara Giuliani, Roberta Vitali, Loredana Tammaro, Daniele Valerini, Antonio Rinaldi
Summary: The antibacterial properties of engineered materials are crucial for various industries like healthcare, food, and water treatment. Nanocoating and electrospinning are low-cost technologies that can be used to manufacture innovative non-woven membranes with antibacterial and antifouling properties. This study demonstrates the use of combinatorial testing and nanocoating to optimize the mechanical properties of electrospun membranes and enhance their antimicrobial resistance.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Roberta Condo, Gianluca Mampieri, Alessandro Cioffi, Paola Pirelli, Aldo Giancotti, Luca Maiolo, Francesco Maita, Annalisa Convertino, Ivano Lucarini, Andrea Notargiacomo, Julietta Rau, Marco Fosca, Giuseppe Marzo
Summary: This study investigates the relationship between reflectivity, hardness, and chemical composition of dispersed phases in orthodontic composites. The results show that different materials have different reflectivity, which is related to their internal composition and hardness. The study suggests that UV-Vis analysis can provide important insights into the internal material composition of orthodontic composites and indirectly provide information about their mechanical properties.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Somayyeh Rakhshani, Rodolfo Araneo, Andrea Pucci, Antonio Rinaldi, Chiara Giuliani, Alfonso Pozio
Summary: Anion exchange membranes (AEM) are gaining attention as a low-cost solution for water electrolysis to produce hydrogen, providing a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. This article presents the development of a composite AEM by activating a commercial support structure (Celgard (R) 3401) with a commercially available functional group (Fumion (R) FAA-3) through a phase-inversion process. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the phase-inversion procedure through FTIR and SEM analysis. The performance test of the membrane showed promising results, surpassing a commonly used commercial membrane in alkaline electrolysis (Fumasep), and a testing procedure for membrane performance evaluation during electrolysis was developed.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Roberto Gaetani, Yuriy Derevyanchuk, Andrea Notargiacomo, Marialilia Pea, Massimiliano Renzi, Elisa Messina, Fabrizio Palma
Summary: Nano- or microdevices that can simultaneously record and stimulate multiple excitable cells have the potential to revolutionize basic and applied cardiology, tissue engineering, and neuroscience. To extract bioelectrical information from cell membranes, an innovative approach using integrated circuits with nanowires has been proposed. These nanowires, grown directly on the integrated circuits, enable on-site amplification of bioelectric signals with uniform morphology and growth. The biocompatibility of silicon and zinc oxide nanowires has been evaluated, and the findings suggest that this technology could pave the way for new devices that improve the investigation of biological systems and are suitable for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
BIOENGINEERING-BASEL
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Francesco Torre, Teodor Huminiuc, Paolo Barra, Luciano Pilloni, Tomas Polcar, Antonio Rinaldi, Francesco Delogu, Roberto Orru, Giacomo Cao, Antonio Mario Locci
Summary: Nanocrystalline W100-xAlx powders (x up to 20 at.%) obtained by mechanical alloying were consolidated by spark plasma sintering (SPS). Alloying W with Al significantly improved the sinterability, enabling the fabrication of dense samples. The consolidation process did not significantly affect the nanocrystalline microstructure, contributing to the hardness of the final W-Al alloys.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF REFRACTORY METALS & HARD MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Felicia Carotenuto, Noemi Fiaschini, Paolo Di Nardo, Antonio Rinaldi
Summary: Electrospinning has great potential for tissue engineering scaffold manufacturing by mimicking the extracellular matrix and directing stem cell fate. This study discusses a rational methodology based on statistical design of experiments to capture the relationship between electrospinning process parameters and scaffold properties. The obtained models enable material-by-design strategies and accelerate product development. The approach can be applied in the design of multilayer scaffolds with controlled properties and can potentially be merged with artificial intelligence tools.
Article
Electrochemistry
Mariasole Di Carli, Annalisa Aurora, Antonio Rinaldi, Noemi Fiaschini, Pier Paolo Prosini
Summary: In this study, electrospun nanofiber membranes were investigated as separators for lithium batteries. The relationship between process parameters and microstructural properties of membranes made from polyacrylonitrile-polycaprolactone mixtures was identified using a combinatorial approach. The membranes' microstructure was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, and temperature and humidity during deposition were analyzed for their influence. Functional evaluation was conducted through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and the membranes showed high specific conductivities. The best performance was observed from the PAN/PCL 50:50 membrane, with excellent cycling stability, high initial capacity, and high coulombic efficiency.
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Giampiero Lovat, Paolo Burghignoli, Rodolfo Araneo, Salvatore Celozzi
Summary: We studied the magnetic field transmitted through a finite thickness circular aperture in an infinite magneto-conductive planar screen. The source of the field was a circular electric current loop coaxial with the aperture. By considering the finite thickness of the aperture and using generalized boundary conditions, we obtained a pair of dual integral equations. These equations were solved using a Neumann series expansion of Bessel functions combined with a Galerkin method of moments. The solutions provided equivalent electric and magnetic spectral current densities, from which all field components could be easily obtained. The proposed formulation allowed for a clear distinction between the contributions to the total transmitted field from diffusion in the magneto-conductive screen and penetration through the aperture.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Daniela Ariaudo, Francesca Cavalieri, Antonio Rinaldi, Ana Aguilera, Matilde Lopez, Hilda Garay Perez, Ariel Felipe, Maria del Carmen Dominguez, Odalys Ruiz, Gillian Martinez, Mariano Venanzi
Summary: In this study, porous polysaccharide-based microsponges based on crosslinked alginate polymers were developed and characterized. These microsponges showed efficient loading and sustained release of a therapeutic peptide, suggesting their potential as a carrier for controlled peptide delivery.
