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Polymer Materials in Sensors, Actuators and Energy Conversion II

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A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2024 | Viewed by 17850

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Jung-Chang Wang

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Department of Marine Engineering (DME), College of Maritime Science and Management, National Taiwan Ocean University (NTOU), Jhongjheng District 202301 No. 2, Pei-Ning Road, Keelung City, Taiwan
Interests: green energy; two-Phase flow; thermal module; surface heat treatment for fins; thermo-electric nanofluids; CFD numerical method; LED lighting
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This SI is continuing on the subject of Polymer Materials in Sensors, Actuators, and Energy Conversion, in which 10 regular and 2 review papers had been successfully published. Polymer-based materials applications are playing a key role in these recent developing areas of smart matters and electronic devices. They cover the synthesis, structures, and properties of polymers and composites, including energy-harvesting devices and energy storage devices for electromechanical (electrical to mechanical energy conversion) and magnetomechanical (magnetic to mechanical energy conversion), light-emitting devices, and electrically driving sensors. Therefore, modulation of polymer-based materials and devices for controlling detection, actuation, and energy with functionalized relative devices is achieved.

Prof. Dr. Jung-Chang Wang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

polymer blend nanoelectrolytes
hybrid polymer–inorganic composites
synthesis of polymer composites for energy applications
polymer-based sensors
polymer membranes for energy applications
polymers for energy storage capacitor applications
polymer-based nanogenerator
polymer-based organic batteries
polymerization potentials

Published Papers (13 papers)

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Research

Jump to: Review

14 pages, 5693 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Synthesis and Application of Polymer SXFA in the Detection of Organophosphine Agents with a SAW Sensor

by Cancan Yan, Molin Qin, Tengxiao Guo, Lin Zhang, Junchao Yang and Yong Pan

Polymers 2024, 16(6), 784; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16060784 - 12 Mar 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 510

Abstract

The effective detection of isopropyl methylfluorophosphonate (GB, sarin), a type of organophosphine poisoning agent, is an urgent issue to address to maintain public safety. In this research, a gas-sensitive film material, poly (4-hydroxy-4,4-bis trifluoromethyl)-butyl-1-enyl)-siloxane (SXFA), with a structure of hexafluoroisopropyl (HFIP) functional group was synthesized by using methyl vinylpropyl dichlorosilane and hexafluoroacetone trihydrate as initial materials. The synthesis process products were characterized using FTIR. SXFA was prepared on a 200 MHz shear surface wave delay line using the spin-coating method for GB detection. A detection limit of <0.1 mg/m³ was achieved through conditional experiments. Meanwhile, we also obtained a maximum response of 2.168 mV at a 0.1 mg/m³ concentration, indicating the much lower detection limit of the SAW-SXFA sensor. Additionally, a maximum response standard deviation of 0.11 mV with a coefficient of variation of 0.01 and a maximum recovery standard deviation of 0.22 mV with a coefficient of variation of 0.02 were also obtained through five repeated experiments. The results show that the SAW-SXFA sensor has strong selectivity and reproducibility, good selectivity, positive detection ability, high sensitivity, and fast alarm performance for sarin detection. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Materials in Sensors, Actuators and Energy Conversion II)

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13 pages, 7954 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Flowing Liquid-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator Performance Enhancement with Functionalized Polyvinylidene Fluoride Membrane for Self-Powered Pulsating Flow Sensing Application

by Duy Linh Vu, Quang Tan Nguyen, Pil Seung Chung and Kyoung Kwan Ahn

Polymers 2024, 16(4), 536; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16040536 - 16 Feb 2024

Viewed by 659

Abstract

Pulsating flow, a common term in industrial and medical contexts, necessitates precise water flow measurement for evaluating hydrodynamic system performance. Addressing challenges in measurement technologies, particularly for pulsating flow, we propose a flowing liquid-based triboelectric nanogenerator (FL-TENG). To generate sufficient energy for a self-powered device, we employed a fluorinated functionalized technique on a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane to enhance the performance of FL-TENG. The results attained a maximum instantaneous power density of 50.6 µW/cm², and the energy output proved adequate to illuminate 10 white LEDs. Regression analysis depicting the dependence of the output electrical signals on water flow revealed a strong linear relationship between the voltage and flow rate with high sensitivity. A high correlation coefficient R² within the range from 0.951 to 0.998 indicates precise measurement accuracy for the proposed FL-TENG. Furthermore, the measured time interval between two voltage peaks precisely corresponds to the period of pulsating flow, demonstrating that the output voltage can effectively sense pulsating flow based on voltage and the time interval between two voltage peaks. This work highlights the utility of FL-TENG as a self-powered pulsating flow rate sensor. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Materials in Sensors, Actuators and Energy Conversion II)

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14 pages, 2783 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Disposable Polyaniline/m-Phenylenediamine-Based Electrochemical Lactate Biosensor for Early Sepsis Diagnosis

by Piromya Thongkhao, Apon Numnuam, Pasarat Khongkow, Surasak Sangkhathat and Tonghathai Phairatana

Polymers 2024, 16(4), 473; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16040473 - 8 Feb 2024

Viewed by 618

Abstract

Lactate serves as a crucial biomarker that indicates sepsis assessment in critically ill patients. A rapid, accurate, and portable analytical device for lactate detection is required. This work developed a stepwise polyurethane–polyaniline–m-phenylenediamine via a layer-by-layer based electrochemical biosensor, using a screen-printed gold electrode for lactate determination in blood samples. The developed lactate biosensor was electrochemically fabricated with layers of m-phenylenediamine, polyaniline, a crosslinking of a small amount of lactate oxidase via glutaraldehyde, and polyurethane as an outer membrane. The lactate determination using amperometry revealed the biosensor’s performance with a wide linear range of 0.20–5.0 mmol L⁻¹, a sensitivity of 12.17 ± 0.02 µA·mmol⁻¹·L·cm⁻², and a detection limit of 7.9 µmol L⁻¹. The developed biosensor exhibited a fast response time of 5 s, high selectivity, excellent long-term storage stability over 10 weeks, and good reproducibility with 3.74% RSD. Additionally, the determination of lactate in human blood plasma using the developed lactate biosensor was examined. The results were in agreement with the enzymatic colorimetric gold standard method (p > 0.05). Our developed biosensor provides efficiency, reliability, and is a great potential tool for advancing lactate point-of-care testing applications in the early diagnosis of sepsis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Materials in Sensors, Actuators and Energy Conversion II)

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11 pages, 2618 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimization of Gas-Sensing Properties in Poly(triarylamine) Field-Effect Transistors by Device and Interface Engineering

by Youngnan Kim, Donggeun Lee, Ky Van Nguyen, Jung Hun Lee and Wi Hyoung Lee

Polymers 2023, 15(16), 3463; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15163463 - 18 Aug 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 853

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the gas-sensing mechanism in bottom-gate organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) using poly(triarylamine) (PTAA). A comparison of different device architectures revealed that the top-contact structure exhibited superior gas-sensing performance in terms of field-effect mobility and sensitivity. The thickness of the active layer played a critical role in enhancing these parameters in the top-contact structure. Moreover, the distance and pathway for charge carriers to reach the active channel were found to significantly influence the gas response. Additionally, the surface treatment of the SiO₂ dielectric with hydrophobic self-assembled mono-layers led to further improvement in the performance of the OFETs and gas sensors by effectively passivating the silanol groups. Under optimal conditions, our PTAA-based gas sensors achieved an exceptionally high response (>200%/ppm) towards NO₂. These findings highlight the importance of device and interface engineering for optimizing gas-sensing properties in amorphous polymer semiconductors, offering valuable insights for the design of advanced gas sensors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Materials in Sensors, Actuators and Energy Conversion II)

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19 pages, 5196 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Simulation and Experiment of Active Vibration Control Based on Flexible Piezoelectric MFC Composed of PZT and PI Layer

by Chong Li, Liang Shen, Jiang Shao and Jiwen Fang

Polymers 2023, 15(8), 1819; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15081819 - 7 Apr 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1939

Abstract

In order to improve the vibration suppression effect of the flexible beam system, active control based on soft piezoelectric macro-fiber composites (MFCs) consisting of polyimide (PI) sheet and lead zirconate titanate (PZT) is used to reduce the vibration. The vibration control system is composed of a flexible beam, a sensing piezoelectric MFC plate, and an actuated piezoelectric MFC plate. The dynamic coupling model of the flexible beam system is established according to the theory of structural mechanics and the piezoelectric stress equation. A linear quadratic optimal controller (LQR) is designed based on the optimal control theory. An optimization method, designed based on a differential evolution algorithm, is utilized for the selection of weighted matrix Q. Additionally, according to theoretical research, an experimental platform is built, and vibration active control experiments are carried out on piezoelectric flexible beams under conditions of instantaneous disturbance and continuous disturbance. The results show that the vibration of flexible beams is effectively suppressed under different disturbances. The amplitudes of the piezoelectric flexible beams are reduced by 94.4% and 65.4% under the conditions of instantaneous and continuous disturbances with LQR control. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Materials in Sensors, Actuators and Energy Conversion II)

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20 pages, 5290 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigations on Five PMMA Closed Types of Piezo Actuators as a Cooling Fan

by Rong-Tsu Wang and Jung-Chang Wang

Polymers 2023, 15(2), 377; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15020377 - 10 Jan 2023

Viewed by 1077

Abstract

There are five closed types of piezo actuators (closed type of PA, closed PA) as a cooling fan relative to those different PAJs of the previous work (open type of PAJ, open PAJ) for analysis in the present study. Closed PA was composed of circular piezoelectric ceramics (PCs) and acrylic (PMMA) plates and investigated on five different types at operating conditions. The results show that the noise of the closed PA is quieter than that of the open PAJ by about 10 dB. When the closed PA is deposed at a suitable distance of 10 to 20 mm from the heat source, averting sucking back the high-temperature fluids around that, the thermal convection coefficient is above 120% more than that of the conventional rotary fan. The cooling performances of these five closed PAs were evaluated by thermal analysis technique, and the convection thermal resistance of the best closed PA can be decreased by over 15%. In terms of energy consumption, a monolithic closed PA was less than 10% than that of a rotary fan. Among these five closed PAs, the best one has the essential qualities that the diameter of the piezoelectric sheet is 41 mm, the opening length is 4 mm, and the outer opening length is 10 mm. Moreover, the best operating conditions are a voltage frequency of 300 Hz and a release distance of 15 mm in the present study. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Materials in Sensors, Actuators and Energy Conversion II)

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13 pages, 3700 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Swelling and Collapse of Cylindrical Polyelectrolyte Microgels

by Ivan V. Portnov, Alexandra A. Larina, Rustam A. Gumerov and Igor I. Potemkin

Polymers 2022, 14(22), 5031; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14225031 - 20 Nov 2022

Viewed by 1458

Abstract

In this study, we propose computer simulations of charged cylindrical microgels. The effects of cross-linking density, aspect ratio, and fraction of charged groups on the microgel swelling and collapse with a variation in the solvent quality were studied. The results were compared with those obtained for equivalent neutral cylindrical microgels. The study demonstrated that microgels’ degree of swelling strongly depends on the fraction of charged groups. Polyelectrolyte microgels under adequate solvent conditions are characterized by a larger length and thickness than their neutral analogues: the higher the fraction of charged groups, the longer their length and greater their thickness. Microgels’ collapse upon solvent quality decline is characterized by a decrease in length and non-monotonous behavior of its thickness. First, the thickness decreases due to the attraction of monomer units (beads) upon collapse. The further thickness increase is related to the surface tension, which tends to reduce the anisotropy of collapsed objects (the minimum surface energy is known to be achieved for the spherical objects). This reduction is opposed by the network elasticity. The microgels with a low cross-linking density and/or a low enough aspect ratio reveal a cylinder-to-sphere collapse. Otherwise, the cylindrical shape is preserved in the course of the collapse. Aspect ratio as a function of the solvent quality (interaction parameter) demonstrates the maximum, which is solely due to the electrostatics. Finally, we plotted radial concentration profiles for network segments, their charged groups, and counterions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Materials in Sensors, Actuators and Energy Conversion II)

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9 pages, 2933 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Dual-Cavity Fiber Fabry–Pérot Interferometer for Simultaneous Measurement of Thermo-Optic and Thermal Expansion Coefficients of a Polymer

by Cheng-Ling Lee, Chao-Tsung Ma, Kuei-Chun Yeh and Yu-Ming Chen

Polymers 2022, 14(22), 4966; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14224966 - 16 Nov 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1299

Abstract

This paper presents a novel method based on a dual-cavity fiber Fabry–Pérot interferometer (DCFFPI) for simultaneously measuring the thermo-optic coefficient (TOC) and thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) of a polymer. The polymer is, by nature, highly responsive to temperature (T) in that its size (length, L) and refractive index (RI, n) are highly dependent on the thermal effect. When the optical length of the polymer cavity changes with T, it is difficult to distinguish whether there is a change in L or n, or both. The variation rates of L and n with a change in T were the TOC and TEC, respectively. Therefore, there was a cross-sensitivity between TOC and TEC in the polymer-based interferometer. The proposed DCFFPI, which cascades a polymer and an air cavity, can solve the above problem. The expansion of the polymer cavity is equal to the compression of the air cavity with the increase in T. By analyzing the individual optical spectra of the polymer and air cavities, the parameters of TOC and TEC can be determined at the same time. The simultaneous measurement of TOC and TEC with small measured deviations of 6 × 10⁻⁶ (°C⁻¹) and 3.67 × 10⁻⁵ (°C⁻¹) for the polymer NOA61 and 7 × 10⁻⁶ (°C⁻¹) and 1.46 × 10⁻⁴ (°C⁻¹) for the NOA65 can be achieved. Experimental results regarding the measured accuracy for the class of adhesive-based polymer are presented to demonstrate the feasibility and verify the usefulness of the proposed DCFFPI. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Materials in Sensors, Actuators and Energy Conversion II)

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16 pages, 8624 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Flexible Multifunctional PAN Piezoelectric Fiber with Hydrophobicity, Energy Storage, and Fluorescence

by Qisong Shi, Rui Xue, Yan Huang, Shifeng He, Yibo Wu and Yongri Liang

Polymers 2022, 14(21), 4573; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14214573 - 28 Oct 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2459

Abstract

Lightweight, flexible, and hydrophobic multifunctional piezoelectric sensors have increasingly important research value in contemporary society. They can generate electrical signals under the action of pressure and can be applied in various complex scenarios. In this study, we prepared a polyacrylonitrile (PAN) composite fiber doped with imidazolium type ionic liquids (ILs) and europium nitrate hexahydrate (Eu (NO₃)₃·6H₂O) by a facile method. The results show that the PAN composite fibers had excellent mechanical properties (the elongation at break was 114% and the elastic modulus was 2.98 MPa), hydrophobic self-cleaning ability (water contact angle reached 127.99°), and can also emit light under UV light irradiation red fluorescence. In addition, thanks to the induction of the piezoelectric phase of PAN by the dual fillers, the composite fibers exhibited efficient energy storage capacity and excellent sensitivity. The energy density of PAN@Eu-6ILs reached a maximum of 44.02 mJ/cm³ and had an energy storage efficiency of 80%. More importantly, under low pressure detection, the sensitivity of the composite fiber was 0.69 kPa⁻¹. The research results show that this PAN composite fiber has the potential to act as wearable piezoelectric devices, energy storage devices, and other electronic devices. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Materials in Sensors, Actuators and Energy Conversion II)

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11 pages, 522 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Insights into the Influence of Different Pre-Treatments on Physicochemical Properties of Nafion XL Membrane and Fuel Cell Performance

by Asmaa Selim, Gábor Pál Szijjártó and András Tompos

Polymers 2022, 14(16), 3385; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14163385 - 18 Aug 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1771

Abstract

Perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) polymers such as Nafion are the most frequently used Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) in PEM fuel cells. Nafion XL is one of the most recently developed membranes designed to enhance performance by employing a mechanically reinforced layer in the architecture and a chemical stabilizer. The influence of the water and acid pre-treatment process on the physicochemical properties of Nafion XL membrane and Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA) was investigated. The obtained results indicate that the pre-treated membranes have higher water uptake and dimensional swelling ratios, i.e., higher hydrophilicity, while the untreated membrane demonstrated a higher ionic exchange capacity. Furthermore, the conductivity of the acid pre-treated Nafion XL membrane was ~ 9.7% higher compared to the untreated membrane. Additionally, the maximum power densities obtained at 80 °C using acid pre-treatment were ~ 0.8 and 0.93 W/cm² for re-cast Nafion and Nafion XL, respectively. However, the maximum generated powers for untreated membranes at the same condition were 0.36 and 0.66 W/cm² for re-cast Nafion and Nafion XL, respectively. The overall results indicated that the PEM’s pre-treatment process is essential to enhance performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Materials in Sensors, Actuators and Energy Conversion II)

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14 pages, 3899 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Novel Vibration Piezoelectric Generator Based on Flexible Piezoelectric Film Composed of PZT and PI Layer

by Jia Wang, Yujian Tong, Chong Li, Zhiguang Zhang and Jiang Shao

Polymers 2022, 14(14), 2871; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14142871 - 15 Jul 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1577

Abstract

A novel piezoelectric generator based on soft piezoelectric film consisting of a polyimide (PI) sheet and lead zirconate titanate (PZT) is proposed to generate electric energy under the operating conditions of low-frequency and small-amplitude vibration. The theoretical model and working principle of the piezoelectric generator are discussed in detail. Using ANSYS software, a finite element analysis of the static and modal characteristics of the piezoelectric generator is carried out. Further, the output of the prepared piezoelectric generator is investigated by a home-made experimental platform. Results show that the transient excitation voltage of the generator increases with the increase in load resistance, and the continuous excitation voltage increases first and then remains almost stable. The maximum continuous power produced by the piezoelectric generator is about 4.82 mW. Furthermore, the continuous excitation voltage and power are in accordance with the simulation values when the load resistances are 20 kΩ and 25 kΩ, respectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Materials in Sensors, Actuators and Energy Conversion II)

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10 pages, 2602 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Refractive Index and Temperature Sensing Performance of Microfiber Modified by UV Glue Distributed Nanoparticles

by Hongtao Dang, Yan Zhang, Yukun Qiao and Jin Li

Polymers 2022, 14(12), 2425; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14122425 - 15 Jun 2022

Viewed by 1692

Abstract

Dielectric materials with high refractive index have been widely studied to develop novel photonic devices for modulating optical signals. In this paper, the microfibers were modified by silicon nanoparticles (NPs) and silver NPs mixed in UV glue with ultra-low refractive index, respectively, whose corresponding optical and sensing properties have been studied and compared. The influence from either the morphological parameters of microfiber or the concentration of NPs on the refractive index sensing performance of microfiber has been investigated. The refractive index sensitivities for the microfiber tapers elaborated with silver NPs and silicon NPs were experimentally demonstrated to be 1382.3 nm/RIU and 1769.7 nm/RIU, respectively. Furthermore, the proposed microfiber was encapsulated in one cut of capillary to develop a miniature temperature probe, whose sensitivity was determined as 2.08 nm/°C, ranging from 28 °C to 43 °C. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Materials in Sensors, Actuators and Energy Conversion II)

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Review

Jump to: Research

16 pages, 2838 KiB

Open AccessReview

Sensitive Materials Used in Surface Acoustic Wave Gas Sensors for Detecting Sulfur-Containing Compounds

by Yuhang Wang, Cancan Yan, Chenlong Liang, Ying Liu, Haoyang Li, Caihong Zhang, Xine Duan and Yong Pan

Polymers 2024, 16(4), 457; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16040457 - 6 Feb 2024

Viewed by 785

Abstract

There have been many studies on surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors for detecting sulfur-containing toxic or harmful gases. This paper aims to give an overview of the current state of polymer films used in SAW sensors for detecting deleterious gases. By covering most of the important polymer materials, the structures and types of polymers are summarized, and a variety of devices with different frequencies, such as delay lines and array sensors for detecting mustard gas, hydrogen sulfide, and sulfur dioxide, are introduced. The preparation method of polymer films, the sensitivity of the SAW gas sensor, the limit of detection, the influence of temperature and humidity, and the anti-interference ability are discussed in detail. The advantages and disadvantages of the films are analyzed, and the potential application of polymer films in the future is also forecasted. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Materials in Sensors, Actuators and Energy Conversion II)

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