2D Layered Dipeptide Crystals for Piezoelectric Applications

Author(s)

Zelenovskii, Pavel S. ^{[1, 2, 3]} ; Romanyuk, Konstantin ^{[4, 2, 3]} ; Liberato, Michelle S. ^[5] ; Brandao, Paula ^{[1, 2]} ; Ferreira, Fabio F. ^[6] ; Kopyl, Svitlana ^{[4, 2]} ; Mafra, Luis M. ^{[1, 2]} ; Alves, Wendel A. ^[6] ; Kholkin, Andrei L. ^{[4, 2, 3, 7]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Aveiro, Dept Chem, P-3810193 Aveiro - Portugal

^[2] Univ Aveiro, CICECO Aveiro Inst Mat, P-3810193 Aveiro - Portugal

^[3] Ural Fed Univ, Sch Nat Sci & Math, Ekaterinburg 620000 - Russia

^[4] Univ Aveiro, Dept Phys, P-3810193 Aveiro - Portugal

^[5] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Chem, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[6] Fed Univ ABC, Ctr Nat & Human Sci, BR-09210580 Santo Andre, SP - Brazil

^[7] Natl Res Tomsk Polytech Univ, Phys Mat Sci & Composite Mat Ctr, Res Sch Chem & Appl Biomed Sci, Tomsk 634050 - Russia

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS; v. 31, n. 43 JUL 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 1

Abstract

2D piezoelectric materials such as transition metal dichalcogenides are attracting significant attention because they offer various benefits over bulk piezoelectrics. In this work, the fabrication of layered biomolecular crystals of diphenylalanine (FF) obtained via a co-assembly of l,l- and d,d- enantiomers of FF monomers is reported. Their crystal structure, thermal and chemical stabilities, and piezoelectric properties are investigated. Single crystal X-ray diffraction results show that FF enantiomers are arranged in the form of bilayers consisting of monomers with alternating chirality packed into a tape-like monoclinic structure belonging to a polar space group P2(1). Each bilayer (approximate to 1.5 nm thick) demonstrates strong out-of-plane piezoelectricity (d(33) approximate to 20 pm V-1) that is almost an order of magnitude higher than in the archetypical piezoelectric material quartz. The grown crystals demonstrate better thermal and chemical stabilities than self-assembled hexagonal FF nanotubes studied in the past. Piezoelectric bilayers, being held via weak aromatic interaction in the bulk crystals, can be exfoliated by mechanical or chemical methods, thus resulting in a 2D piezoelectric material, which can find various applications in biocompatible and ecologically friendly electromechanical microdevices, such as sensors, actuators, and energy harvesting elements used in implantable and wearable electronics. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 19/10789-7 - Novel cellular scaffold from a histidine rich recombinant elastin-derived protein for 3D printing
• Grantee: Michelle da Silva Liberato
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 14/50867-3 - INCT 2014: National Institute of Science and Technology in Bioanalysis
• Grantee: Marco Aurelio Zezzi Arruda
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants