Freeze-drying assisted liquid exfoliation of BiFeO<sub>3</sub> for pressure sensing

doi:10.1007/s11467-023-1301-7

Front. Phys.

2023, Vol. 18

Issue (6) : 63303 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11467-023-1301-7

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Freeze-drying assisted liquid exfoliation of BiFeO₃ for pressure sensing

Yuping Li, Mengwei Dong, Xuejie Zou, Jinhao Zhang, Jian Zhang(

), Xiao Huang(

)

Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (KLOFE) & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Jiangsu National Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM), Nanjing Tech University (NanjingTech), 30 South Puzhu Road, Nanjing 211816, China

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Abstract

Breaking up bulk crystals of functional materials into nanoscale thinner layers can lead to interesting properties and enhanced functionalities due to the size and interface effects. However, unlike the van der Waals layered crystals, many materials cannot be exfoliated into thin layers by liquid exfoliation. BiFeO₃ is a piezoelectric ceramic material, which is commonly synthesized as bulk crystals, limiting its wider applications. In this contribution, a freeze-drying assisted liquid exfoliation method was adopted to fabricate thin-layered BiFeO₃ nanoplates with lateral sizes of up to 500 nm and thicknesses of 10−20 nm. The freeze-drying process showed a vital role in the preparation process by imposing stress on the dispersed BiFeO₃ crystals during the liquid-to-solid-to-gas transition of the solvent. Such stress resulted in lattice strains in the freeze-dried BiFeO₃ crystals, which enabled their further exfoliation under subsequent ultrasonication. Considering the intrinsic piezoelectric effect of BiFeO₃, pressure sensors based on bulk and thin-layer BiFeO₃ were also fabricated. The pressure sensor based on BiFeO₃ nanoplates exhibited a largely enhanced sensitivity with a wider working range than the bulk counterpart, because of the stronger piezoelectric effect induced and the extra electrical charges at abundant interlayer interfaces. We suggest that the freeze-drying assisted liquid exfoliation method can be applied to other non-van der Waals crystals to bring about more functional material systems.

Keywords BiFeO₃ nanoplates liquid exfoliation piezoelectricity pressure sensor

Corresponding Author(s): Jian Zhang,Xiao Huang

About author:

^* These authors contributed equally to this work.

Issue Date: 27 June 2023

Cite this article:

Yuping Li,Mengwei Dong,Xuejie Zou, et al. Freeze-drying assisted liquid exfoliation of BiFeO₃ for pressure sensing[J]. Front. Phys. , 2023, 18(6): 63303.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fop/EN/10.1007/s11467-023-1301-7
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fop/EN/Y2023/V18/I6/63303

Fig.1 (a) Schematic diagram of preparation process for thin-layer BiFeO₃ nanoplates. (b) SEM image of bulk BiFeO₃ crystals. (c) TEM image of as-exfoliated thin-layer BiFeO₃ nanoplates. (d) XRD patterns of the bulk BiFeO₃ and as-exfoliated BiFeO₃ nanoplates. (e) HRTEM image of an as-exfoliated BiFeO₃ nanoplate.

Tab.1 Volume change during liquid-to-solid transition and surface tension of the different solvents.

Fig.2 (a) XRD patterns of bulk BiFeO₃ and freeze-dried BiFeO₃ in different solvents. (b) Schematic illustration of the formation mechanism of BiFeO₃ nanoplates.

Fig.3 (a) XRD patterns of freeze-dried bulk BiFeO₃ and products obtained after exfoliation in ethanol, water and methanol. TEM images of products obtained after exfoliation in (b) ethanol, (c) water and (d) methanol for 8 h.

Fig.4 (a) The response of a pressure sensor based on thin-layer BiFeO₃ nanoplates under an applied pressure range of 34.8 Pa?9.9 kPa. (b) Comparison of the responses of sensors based on nanoplates and bulk crystals of BiFeO₃ under an applied pressure range of 34.8–693 Pa. (c) Pressure-response curves of sensors based on nanoplates and bulk crystals of BiFeO₃. (d) Long-term stability of sensor based on BiFeO₃ nanoplates under 34.8 Pa and 251.5 Pa pressure.

Fig.5 (a) Schematic illustration of the sensing mechanism of bulk and thin-layer BiFeO₃ based pressure sensor. (b) The plot between the capacitance and mass of sensing material.

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