Vertically-grown Ag nanoplates on SeZnO₃ nanosheets for an enhanced pressure sensing performance

As a piezoelectric ceramic material, SeZnO₃ has received increasing attention for pressure sensing. However, the poor conductivity and low dielectric constant of bare SeZnO₃ severely limit its wide applications. Herein, to improve the pressure sensing properties of SeZnO₃, SeZnO₃ nanosheets composited with Ag nanoplates were synthesized via a dissolution coprecipitation method, which exhibited a higher sensitivity (54.8 kPa⁻¹) to external pressure with an excellent repeatability than that of bare SeZnO₃ nanosheets (12.3 kPa⁻¹). The enhanced pressure sensing properties of Ag/SeZnO₃ nanocomposites could be attributed to an increased dielectric constant and an enhanced charge output. Moreover, the nanocomposite-based pressure sensors showed an accelerated response/recovery rate (0.7 s/2.7 s) because of the effective charge transfer between SnZnO₃ and Ag, which was confirmed by XPS results. This Ag/SeZnO₃ composite nanosheet-based pressure sensor demonstrates a potential for practical monitoring of human movement.