Enhanced Piezoelectricity in Sustainable-By-Design Chitosan Nanocomposite Soft Thin Films for Green Sensors.

ABSTRACT: Piezoelectricity, the generation of an electric charge in response to mechanical stress, is a key property in both natural and synthetic materials. This study significantly boosts the piezoelectric response of chitosan, a biodegradable biopolymer, by integrating chitin/surface-deacetylated chitin nanocrystals into natural chitosan-based thin films. The resulting materials, produced in our laboratories, achieve d₃₃ values of up to 18.7 ± 1.1 pm V^-1, a marked improvement over 8.9 ± 0.6 pm V^-1 observed in pure chitosan films, thanks to the increased crystallinity provided by the nanocrystals. We utilize piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) to accurately measure the d₃₃ coefficient, employing an engineered extraction method that elimina

SUBMITTER: Nicoletti J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12530049 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature