Piezoelectric Paper

The goal of this project is to develop and demonstrate a new inexpensive and environmentally friendly method to fabricate functional paper based material that can be used as a piezoelectric substrate for sensing applications. The piezoelectric paper fabrication process involves embedding nanostructured barium titanate (BaTiO3) into a stable matrix of wood fibers via fiber functionalization. We have investigated hybrid paper samples loaded with different amount of BaTiO3, and we have found the highest piezoelectric coefficient (d33 = 4.8±0.4 pC/N) at 48 wt% BaTiO3. Our study suggests that functionalizing wood cellulose fibers with nanostructured BaTiO3 is a promising approach to enhancing the functionality and value of paper for developing low-cost sensing devices. We are currently working on enhancing the piezoelectric property of paper further through approriate paper chemistry, and to develop piezoelectric paper based sensors.