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Arrabito G, Delisi A, Giuliano G, Prestopino G, Medaglia PG, Ferrara V, Arcidiacono F, Scopelliti M, Chillura Martino DF, Pignataro B. Self-Cleaning Bending Sensors Based on Semitransparent ZnO Nanostructured Films. ACS APPLIED ENGINEERING MATERIALS 2023; 1:1384-1396. [PMID: 37256019 PMCID: PMC10226038 DOI: 10.1021/acsaenm.3c00082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2023] [Accepted: 04/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
The design of multifunctional nanostructured materials is the key to the development of smart wearable devices. For instance, nanostructures endowed with both piezoelectric and photocatalytic activities could well be the workhorse for solar-light-driven self-cleaning wearable sensors. In this work, a simple strategy for the assembly of a flexible, semitransparent piezophotocatalytic system is demonstrated by leveraging rational wet chemistry synthesis of ZnO-based nanosheets/nanoflowers (NSs/NFs) under basic pH conditions onto flexible ITO/PET supports. A KMnO4 pretreatment before the ZnO synthesis (seeded ZnO) allows for the control of the density, size, and orientation of the NSs/NFs systems compared to the systems produced in the absence of seeding (seedless ZnO). The electrical response of the sensors is extracted at a 1 V bias as a function of bending in the interval between 0 and 90°, being the responsivity toward bending significantly enhanced by the KMnO4 treatment effect. The photocatalytic activity of the sensors is analyzed in aqueous solution (methylene blue, 25 μM) by a solar simulator, resulting in similar values between seedless and seeded ZnO. Upon bending the sensor, the photocatalytic activity of seedless ZnO is almost unaffected, whereas that of seeded ZnO is improved by about 25%. The sensor's reusability and repeatability are tested in up to three different cycles. These results open up the way toward the seamless integration of bending sensitivity and photocatalysis into a single device.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Arrabito
- Department
of Physics and Chemistry—Emilio Segrè, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze 17, 90128 Palermo, Italy
| | - Antonio Delisi
- Department
of Physics and Chemistry—Emilio Segrè, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze 17, 90128 Palermo, Italy
| | - Giuliana Giuliano
- Department
of Physics and Chemistry—Emilio Segrè, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze 17, 90128 Palermo, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Prestopino
- Department
of Industrial Engineering, University of
Rome “Tor Vergata”, Via del Politecnico 1, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Pier Gianni Medaglia
- Department
of Industrial Engineering, University of
Rome “Tor Vergata”, Via del Politecnico 1, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Vittorio Ferrara
- Department
of Physics and Chemistry—Emilio Segrè, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze 17, 90128 Palermo, Italy
| | - Federica Arcidiacono
- Department
of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies
(STeBiCeF), University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze 16, 90128 Palermo, Italy
| | - Michelangelo Scopelliti
- Department
of Physics and Chemistry—Emilio Segrè, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze 17, 90128 Palermo, Italy
- National
Interuniversity Consortium of Materials Science and Technology (INSTM),
UdR of Palermo, 50121 Florence, Italy
| | - Delia Francesca Chillura Martino
- Department
of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies
(STeBiCeF), University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze 16, 90128 Palermo, Italy
- National
Interuniversity Consortium of Materials Science and Technology (INSTM),
UdR of Palermo, 50121 Florence, Italy
| | - Bruno Pignataro
- Department
of Physics and Chemistry—Emilio Segrè, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze 17, 90128 Palermo, Italy
- National
Interuniversity Consortium of Materials Science and Technology (INSTM),
UdR of Palermo, 50121 Florence, Italy
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