Thin and flexible contact/deformation sensors based on piezoelectric nanocomposites

This work aims at demonstrating the possibility of using advanced nanocomposite materials with tuned features in order to develop innovative pressure and deformation sensors suitable for a series of applications, including sensorization in narrow environments, implanted deformable devices, artificial skin and flexible multifunctional surgical instruments. By combining metal sputtering and spin-assisted deposition, we developed thin and flexible polymeric membranes made of polydimethylsiloxane doped with barium titanate nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes and boron nitride nanotubes. By exploiting their piezoelectric properties, the nanocomposites were able to transduce applied pressures and strains into electrical signals. Different combinations of nanoparticles, embedded in the polymeric matrix, were tested. We also highlighted the possibility to tune matrix stiffness, thus adding a “degree of freedom” in the development of nanocomposite sensing elements.