Self-powered flexible piezoelectric sensors based on self-assembled 10 nm BaTiO₃ nanocubes on glass fiber fabric

Hardness or brittleness limits the broad applications of currently available high-performance piezoelectric sensors in emerging fields like human-machine interface and wearable electronics, while existing technologies for fabricating flexible piezoelectric sensors often require high-temperature sintering or complex processes. Here, we reported flexible piezoelectric sensors based on 10 nm BaTiO3 nanocubes self-assembled on glass fiber fabric (GFF). The simple self-assembly process avoids high temperature sintering process which can well maintain the mechanical performance of GFF. Owing to the superior piezoelectric performance of BaTiO3 nanocubes and robust mechanical properties of GFF, the integrally fabricated flexible piezoelectric sensors achieved high sensitivity (101.09 nA kPa−1 and 3.31 V kPa−1 in the low pressure range of 0–10 N) and short response time (19 ms). The sensors can intelligently identify handwriting or recognize the user of keyboard, and the initially collected electrical signals are essentially the same as those after 3000 bending cycles. This work provides a novel self-assembly process to develop fabric-based flexible electronics, which promotes the development of self-powered piezoelectric sensors and creates advancements in human-machine interfaces.