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

Abstract

AbstractDespite 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.