Integration of Interfacial Chemistry-Guided BaTiO<sub><b>3</b></sub> Nanoparticle Arrangements in Polymer Film Stacks for Pressure-Sensing Devices.

Lv, Wenkun; Weng, Yufan; Wang, Yumeng; Guo, Mengmeng; Sha, Xuzheng; Cao, Zhou; Liu, Yuhang; Lu, Haowei et al. · ACS Nano · 2025

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Precise spatial arrangement of nanoparticles (NPs) within soft polymer matrices is essential for enabling hierarchical architectures with tailored dielectric and piezoelectric properties. However, constructing well-ordered, multilayered NP structures remains challenging due to interfacial aggregation, solvent-driven instabilities, and poor layer-to-layer registration. Here, we report a solvent-mediated confinement assembly approach that utilizes patterned polymer templates to direct the assembly of barium titanate (BaTiO<sub>3</sub>) nanoparticles in a poly(vinylidene fluoride-<i>co</i>-hexafluoropropylene) [P(VDF-HFP)] matrix. By controlling interfacial wettability, solvent evaporation, and polymer-nanoparticle interactions, we achieve highly ordered nanoparticle arrays with a feature size of 1 μm and an integration density of 2000 lines/cm. Multilayered architectures are further constructed via layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly, demonstrating enhanced dielectric energy storage (4.8 J/cm<sup>3</sup>) and piezoelectric sensing (2 mg detection limit). This work provides a generalizable approach for manipulating nanoparticle assemblies in soft matter, with potential applications in flexible electronics and energy devices.