Mechanically Assisted Symmetry Reconstruction for Extraordinary Piezoelectricity

TL;DR

This paper introduces a mechanically assisted symmetry reconstruction method that significantly enhances piezoelectric properties in ferroelectric materials, enabling advanced multifunctional wearable sensors with high fidelity.

Contribution

It presents a novel mechanically assisted poling technique guided by thermodynamics and phase-field modeling to improve symmetry and piezoelectric performance in relaxor ferroelectrics.

Findings

Achieved extraordinary piezoelectric coefficients (~5,000 to 11,700 pC/N)

Stabilized highly ordered ferroelectric domains

Demonstrated a wearable sensor integrating blood pressure and SpO2 monitoring

Abstract

Active symmetry control - a central challenge in materials science, particularly in ferroelectrics - is achieved via mechanically assisted poling (MAP) guided by thermodynamics and phase - field modeling. This approach yields extraordinary piezoelectric coefficients (about 5,000 pC/N at 24 degC; 11,700 pC/N at 58 degC) together with about 65% optical transmittance in a classic relaxor ferroelectric, Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3. Mechanical suppression of undesirable phases stabilizes a reconstructed symmetry with highly ordered domains, verified by multiple characterization techniques. The strategy is validated across several distinct ferroelectric systems. To demonstrate its practical utility, we fabricate a transparent dual-modal wearable sensor integrating continuous blood pressure monitoring via piezoelectricity with photoplethysmographic SpO2 detection, enabling high-fidelity physiological tracking. This work establishes mechanically assisted symmetry reconstruction as a pathway to multifunctional optoelectronic materials and compact wearable health technologies.