A Biodegradable and Recyclable Piezoelectric Sensor Based on a Molecular Ferroelectric Embedded in a Bacterial Cellulose Hydrogel

Currently, various electronic devices make our life more and more safe, healthy, and comfortable, but at the same time, they produce a large amount of nondegradable and nonrecyclable electronic waste that threatens our environment. In this work, we explore an environmentally friendly and flexible mechanical sensor that is biodegradable and recyclable. The sensor consists of a bacterial cellulose (BC) hydrogel as the matrix and imidazolium perchlorate (ImClO(4)) molecular ferroelectric as the functional element, the hybrid of which possesses a high sensitivity of 4 mV kPa(-1) and a wide operational range from 0.2 to 31.25 kPa, outperforming those of most devices based on conventional functional biomaterials. Moreover, the BC hydrogel can be fully degraded into glucose and oligosaccharides, while ImClO(4) can be recyclable and reused for the same devices, leaving no environmentally hazardous electronic waste.

Automated summary

This study proposes an environmentally friendly and recyclable mechanical sensor consisting of bacterial cellulose hydrogel and ImClO(4) molecular ferroelectric. It exhibits high sensitivity and a wide operational range, without generating electronic waste.