Strain sensitive flexible magnetoelectric ceramic nanocomposites

TL;DR

This paper introduces flexible magnetoelectric ceramic nanocomposites that can be mechanically stretched, enabling their use in flexible electronics and soft robotics by maintaining tunable ME coupling.

Contribution

The study develops transferable, stretchable BaTiO3/CoFe2O4 nanostructures that exhibit reversible ME coupling, unlike traditional rigid ceramic materials.

Findings

Nanostructures are transferable onto PDMS substrates.

ME coupling is reversibly tunable via mechanical stretching.

Flexible ceramic nanocomposites maintain functional properties under deformation.

Abstract

Advanced flexible electronics and soft robotics require the development and implementation of flexible functional materials. Magnetoelectric (ME) oxide materials can convert magnetic input into electric output and vice versa, making them excellent candidates for advanced sensing, actuating, data storage, and communication. However, their application has been limited to rigid devices due to their brittle nature. Here, we report flexible ME oxide composite (BaTiO3/CoFe2O4) thin film nanostructures that can be transferred onto a stretchable substrate such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). In contrast to rigid bulk counterparts, these ceramic nanostructures display a flexible behavior and exhibit reversibly tunable ME coupling via mechanical stretching. We believe our study can open up new avenues for integrating ceramic ME composites into flexible electronics and soft robotic devices.