Piezoelectric Materials and Devices

Piezoelectric materials can directly convert mechanical energy into electricity and vice versa. As such, they can be used to harvest mechanical energy and structural monitoring applications, such as stress/strain sensing. The major drawbacks of common piezoelectric sensors (i.e. PZT) are their intrinsic brittleness to accommodate high strain applications. To address this challenge, our primary focus in piezoelectric sensors is to design and engineer flexible piezoelectric materials and devices for energy harvesting and in-situ sensing of civil infrastructures, as well as the efficiency of antibiotics through rapid antimicrobial testing. 

Related Publications:

E.Ghafari, N. Lu (2019) " Self-polarized electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanofiber for sensing applications", Composites Part B: Engineering, 160, pp. 1-9.

Y.F. Su, R. Kotian, N. Lu (2018) "Energy Harvesting Potential Of Bendable Concrete using Polymer Based Piezoelectric Generator", Composites Part B: Engineering, 153, pp. 124-129.

E. Ghafari, Y. Yuan, C.Wu, T. Nantung, N. Lu (2018) " Evaluation the compressive strength of the cement paste blended with supplementary cementitious materials using a piezoelectric-based sensor", Construction and Building Materials, 171, 504-510.

E. Ghafari, X. Jiang, N Lu (2017) "Surface Morphology and Beta-phase Formation of Single Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) Composite Nanofibers", Adv. Compos. Hybrid Mater., https://doi.org/10.1007/s42114-017-0016-z.

E. Ghafaria, Y. Feng, Y. Liu, I. Fergusonc, N. Lu (2017) "Investigating process-structure relations of ZnO nanofiber via electrospinning method", Composites Part B: Engineering, 116, pp. 40-45.

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