Atoms to Systems Lab

The Challenge: Modern technology faces a fundamental divide. Advanced electronics for sensing and energy conversion are rigid, while soft, biocompatible materials are typically passive. This creates a critical gap: there is no active energy conversion mechanism native to soft matter.

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The Solution: Piezoionics. We are establishing the missing link. Piezoionics is defined by the transduction of mechanical energy into electrical energy directly within soft, often hydrated, materials through force-induced ionic motion. Unlike traditional piezoelectricity in ceramics or polymers, which relies on crystal lattice deformation, piezoionics harnesses the selective movement of cations and anions within a soft matrix under stress.

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Our Approach: We design soft materials and devices that create and exploit asymmetric cation and anion transport under mechanical deformation. This asymmetry generates a net ionic current and measurable electrical potential, turning passive soft materials into active transducers.

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The Result: A new class of active soft materials that can sense, respond, and generate power from mechanical stimuli. This enables seamless bio-integration for healthcare diagnostics, creates self-powered wearable and implantable sensors, and opens new pathways to energy-autonomous soft robotics and human-machine interfaces.

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