Sensors & Actuators: A.

Physical 365 (2024) 114858

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Sensors and Actuators: A. Physical

journal homepage: www.journals.elsevier.com/sensors-and-actuators-a-physical

Surface potential modulation for improved mechanical energy harvesting

and sensing in 3D printed biopolymer thermoelectret
Dalip Saini , Ajay Kumar , Hari Krishna Mishra , Varun Gupta , Bidya Mondal , Zinnia Mallick ,
Dipankar Mandal *
Quantum Materials and Devices Unit, Institute of Nano Science and Technology, Knowledge City, Sector 81, Mohali 140306, India

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: This study presents the development of a special class of electret known as thermoelectret, made with polylactic
3D printing acid (PLA), prepared via 3D printing technology followed by a heat-assisted corona discharged technique. We
Thermoelectret show that the bimodal surface polarity (i.e., ± 1 kV) is possible to achieve over the top and bottom surfaces of 3D
Self-powered pressure sensor
printed PLA thermoelectret that enable a wide range of potential applications, such as mechanical energy har­
PLA
Health-monitoring
vesting to wearable biomedical sensors. Besides this, the enhanced surface potential leads to a giant longitudinal
piezoelectric coefficient (d33) of 350 ± 15 pC/N, which is typically 10 times higher than the best-known
piezoelectric polymer, polyvinylidene fluoride-trifluoro ethylene (PVDF-TrFE). To utilize this benefit, a 3D-
printed thermoelectret-based mechanical energy harvester (3D-TEH) has been developed that delivers an
outstanding power density of ⁓ 25 mW/m2, which makes it a suitable candidate for the self-power pressure
sensor. As a proof of concept, we have demonstrated that 3D-TEH is capable of recording the bone-joints mo­
tions, coughing action, and human foot-pressure distribution that signify its potential application as a self-
powered bio-medical sensor.

1. Introduction
Self-powered wearable pressure sensors and energy harvesters have
gained considerable attention due to their applicability in various fields,
including health care monitoring [1–3], electronic prosthetic skin [4,5],
mechanical energy harvesting [6–9], and soft robotics [10]. Energy
harvesters, such as electret, triboelectric, and piezoelectric, harvest
mechanical energy and convert it into electric energy through different
operation modes and device structures. Piezoelectric materials, which
have microscopic dipoles, are commonly used as mechanical energy
harvesters. Triboelectric energy harvesters, on the other hand, consist of
materials with different surface potentials and generate electric charges
via their physical contact and separation. Electret energy harvesters
utilize porous/voids/cellular structures in materials along with corona
discharge treatment. By employing various fabrication techniques and
device structures, polymer materials can be used for any of these energy
harvesting methods. Piezoelectric materials are particularly favorable
due to their simple device structures and self-powered functionalities.
They are frequently employed as pressure sensors and find applications
in various industries [2,8]. Inorganic piezoelectric materials such as
PZT, BTO, and PZN-PT have a high piezoelectric coupling coefficient but
are unsuitable for flexible pressure sensors due to their brittleness and
rigidity [11]. Additionally, their toxicity limits their use in biomedical
devices. On the other hand, piezoelectric polymers like PVDF and
PVDF-TrFE are flexible, lightweight, and biocompatible, making them
ideal for wearable pressure sensors [12]. However, they have limitations
such as poor thermal fatigue, low Curie transition temperature, and a
toxic synthesis route [13]. Moreover, piezoelectric polymer-based
pressure sensors require operation in resonance mode to obtain high
sensitivity, which presents challenges in circuit design and device
fabrication [14]. Recently, a highly sensitive triboelectric pressure
sensor has been reported with a simple device fabrication process [15,
16]. However, the stability of the triboelectric pressure sensor is one of
the major concerns due to frequent contact separation between the
metal electrode and polymer surface [17]. In this context, recently,
electrets have gained lots of interest in fabricating pressure sensors due
to their adequate mechano-sensitivity caused by ionized trapped air and
injected space charge within porous structures [18,19]. Based on the
fabrication process, there are various types of electrets available such as
thermoelectret (DC electric field with temperature) [20,21],

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: dmandal@inst.ac.in (D. Mandal).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sna.2023.114858
Received 2 August 2023; Received in revised form 25 October 2023; Accepted 18 November 2023
Available online 22 November 2023
0924-4247/© 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
D. Saini et al.
photoelectret (UV-Vis radiation) [20,22], radioelectret (β and γ radia­
tion) [23], and electron-injection electret (DC electric field-assisted
electron injection) [24].
In particular, thermoelectrets are polarized under a high DC electric
field with high temperature, and it retains polarization even after
removing the electric field and temperature [20]. Primarily, to form
thermoelectret, dipolar dielectric materials such as polyethylene tere­
phthalate (PET), poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), polylactic acid
(PLA), polyvinylidene fluoride-trifluoro ethylene (PVDF-TrFE) and
non-dipolar dielectric materials such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE),
polystyrene (PS), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) are used
[25–28]. In electret nanogenerators, trapped charges induced surface
potential operate as a driving force causing free electrons to flow
alternately between electrodes due to electrostatic induction [29]. The
stability of electret charges, when exposed to hostile conditions, is a
fundamental challenge in practical applications for electret nano­
generators that harvest energy from the ambient environment. Although
much research has been done on the preservation of electret charges in
ambient air in past publications [30–32]. More recently, Zhong et al.
created a kind of laminated cellular electret film and discovered that its
surface potential might partially recover even after being drenched with
water [32]. However, electret material still requires improvement in
surface charge density and environmental stability. To obtain an effi­
cient electret nanogenerator, various electret materials are explored,
primarily focusing on high surface potential with a prolonged retention
time [33–35]. Earlier reports suggest that the porosity and structural
design of the electrets greatly influence the stability of surface potential
[36,37].
3D printing, based on the fused deposition modeling (FDM) tech­
nique, is a versatile technique for designing and fabricating complex
structures. Numerous efforts have been made to fabricate different
complex structures with high porosity using the 3D printing technique to
obtain superior electrets properties [38–40]. Polylactic acid (PLA) is a
commonly used material in 3D printing, known for its flexibility, heat
resistance, and ability to allow moisture permeation [41]. It is becoming
increasingly popular for energy harvesting applications due to its
piezoelectric properties. These properties make it suitable for creating
piezoelectric nanogenerators (PNGs) that can be used in various pres­
sure sensors. This electret behavior can be particularly useful in the
biomedical sector, where PLA-based PNGs can be utilized for various
applications [18]. The α-crystalline form of polylactic acid (PLA) is
thermodynamically stable and has non-electroactive properties due to
the random orientation of the -C– –O dipoles along the main chain.
However, by subjecting PLA to stretching or an electric field treatment,
it can be converted into the β-crystalline form. This treatment aligns the
molecular chains along the stretched direction, resulting in piezoelectric
properties [42,43]. The presence of oriented carbonyl groups (-C– –O) in
PLA enhances its polarity, facilitating a d33 of ~10 pC/N [43]. PLA is
also a promising material due to its biodegradability, renewability, ease
of fabrication, biocompatibility, and improved mechanical stability.
Recently, various attempts have been made to improve the piezoelectric
properties of materials. Morvan et al. developed a biocompatible fiber
composite by incorporating piezoelectric BaTiO3 ceramic particles in a
PLA matrix [44]. Varga et al. studied the piezoelectric responses of
electrospun PLA/BaTiO3 composite fiber mats to achieve a d33 value of
≈ 500 pC N− 1, expanding their applications to active implants and smart
textiles [45]. Curry et al. created a flexible and biodegradable piezo­
electric force sensor using PLA, which can record physiological signals
from the brain, eye, and lungs [46]. Additionally, a thermally robust
cantilever-based device was constructed using PLA for vibration-based
energy harvesting applications, with a d33 of 9.57 pC N− 1 achieved
through thermal treatment for over 24 h to increase crystallinity [47].
Thus, PLA-based systems opened new avenues to use as piezoelectric
systems in mechanical energy harvesting applications as well as
biomedical sensors/implants. So, with the combination of suitable ma­
terial selection, desired geometrical design, and optimum porous
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Sensors and Actuators: A. Physical 365 (2024) 114858
Table 1
3D printing parameters for fabrication of PLA films.
Parameters Values
Nozzle diameter 0.4 mm
Bed temperature 60 ℃
Extrusion temperature 210 ℃
Layer height 0.18 mm
Printing speed 40 mm/s
Infill percentage 100%
electret structure, it is possible to fabricate an electret consisting of
highly stable surface potential that could be potentially used as an
implantable biomedical device. Recently, a few works have been carried
out based on the 3D-printed electret [40,47,48]; these could be
considered the beginning of the era of 3D-printed electrets. Thus, plenty
of scopes are available to explore the different classes of materials,
properties, and output performance. For instance, there are no attempts
have been made on the 3D-printed biocompatible PLA-based electrode,
which exhibits giant surface potential and high d33 that may be effec­
tively utilized as a biomedical sensor. It is noteworthy to mention that,
for the first time, we have demonstrated a 3D printed thermoelectret
with such a high stable surface potential with a giant d33.
Here, in this work, a porous 3D printed PLA film (20 × 20 mm2) is
fabricated in the form of a thermoelectret to fabricate 3D-TEH that ex­
hibits a highly stable surface potential along with giant d33, which is
superior to earlier reported work on PLA composites (Table S1). It also
displays high mechano-sensitivity (~ 36 mV/kPa for lower pressure
ranging from 0.1 to 0.5 kPa and ~ 8.86 mV/kPa for higher pressure
ranging from 0.5 to 45 kPa) and fast response time (⁓ 7 ms). In addition,
due to the non-toxic, flexible, cost-effective, hydrophobic, environment-
friendly, and biocompatible nature of PLA thermoelectret, 3D-TEh could
be the suitable choice for bio signal monitoring. As a proof of concept,
the 3D-TEH is tested for bone-joint motion detection and foot-pressure
mapping.
2. Experimental section
2.1. Materials and fabrication of the 3D printed PLA films
PLA films of dimension 2 × 2 × 0.05 cm3 were fabricated using the
FDM 3D printer (Ender 3D). The commercially available PLA filament
(Esun Industrial C0., Ltd.) diameter of 1.75 mm was utilized to print the
designed films. The main printing parameter is listed in Table 1.
2.2. Characterizations
A field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) (JEOL, JSM-
7610FPLUS, Japan) was used for surface and cross-sectional imaging.
The topological surface image was captured using atomic force micro­
scopy (AFM) (Multimode 8, Bruker, Germany). Water contact angle
measurement was performed with a Drop Shape Analyzer (Kruss DSC 8,
Germany). The elemental composition of PLA film was analyzed by X-
ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) (Thermo Scientific, Al K-alpha,
UK) using a monochromatic Al Kα X-ray source of binding energy
1486.5 eV. Thermal analysis of PLA film was measured from differential
scanning calorimetry (DSC) (STA8000, Perkin Elmer, USA) with 5 ◦ C
/min of the thermal rate under the nitrogen environment. Infrared
spectra of neat and corona-discharged PLA films were recorded by FTIR
spectroscopy (VERTEX70, Bruker, Switzerland) in ATR mode with 4
cm− 1 resolution and 64 scans. The untreated and corona discharge
treated PLA films at various temperatures from 50◦ to 110◦ C are labeled
as U.PLA and P.PLA50, P.PLA70, P.PLA90, and P.PLA110, respectively
(Fig. 4a-b). To realize the dipole switching dynamics, the polarization
(P) – electric field (E) hysteresis loop (Radiant Precision LC II, USA) of
the 3D printed thermoelectret with silver paste electrode was recorded
D. Saini et al.
Fig. 1. The schematic of the design strategy of 3D-TEH fabrication, (a) 3D
printing of PLA film, (b) corona discharge treatment, (c) fabrication of a 3D-
TEH, and (d) its applicability for pressure mapping and biomechanical
signal monitoring.
under a sweeping electric field (E) of ± 80 KVcm− 1 at a frequency of 10
Hz. Surface potential was measured with an electrostatic voltmeter (279
L, ISOPROBE, USA). The electrical measurement (open circuit voltage
and short circuit current) of the 3D-TEH was recorded from a digital
storage oscilloscope (DSOX1102G, Keysight, USA) and source meter
(B2902A, Keysight, USA). The stability data of 3D-TEH were recorded
after 30 days of corona treatment.
2.3. Fabrication of thermoelectret-based pressure sensor
To obtain thermoelectret, 3D printed PLA thermoelectrets were
exposed to corona discharge at 60 kV corona voltage and 8 kV grid
voltage at different temperatures, ranging from 30 to 110 ℃ for 30 min.
After that, it cooled down to room temperature (RT) in the presence of
applied corona voltage; then, the applied field was removed slowly.
Further, Aluminium (Al) electrodes were deposited on both sides of the
corona discharge-treated PLA film. Next, electric connections on Al
electrodes were made through Cu wire to obtain an electric signal. At
last, PDMS coating was carried out to prevent physical, chemical, and
environmental damage. An untreated thermoelectret-based device
(Control 3D-TEH) is also prepared for comparison.
2.4. Biomechanical signal monitoring
All experiments related to biomechanical signal monitoring were
carried out with volunteer permission (25, Male) and coauthors. The
pressure sensor array was designed using the fabricated pressure sensor
devices to measure the foot pressure distribution.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Surface characterizations
The schematic in Fig. 1 depicts the entire process of the proposed
work, which involves multiple steps. First, a porous PLA film is created
using 3D printing technology (Fig. 1a). Next, the film undergoes corona
discharge treatment to transform it into a thermoelectret material
(Fig. 1b). The working mechanism of the thermoelectret-based device is
displayed in Fig. 1c. Finally, the designed pressure sensor is utilized for
monitoring human health, as demonstrated in Fig. 1d.
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To achieve the desired structure of the film, a computer-aided design
(CAD) image is created (Fig. 2a). Scanning electron microscope (SEM)
images (Fig. 2b-c) of the top surface and cross-sectional area of the 3D-
printed PLA film are presented. The top surface shows a horizontal gap
of approximately 200 ± 10 µm between polymer lines, which expedites
a high surface roughness. The cross-sectional SEM image reveals cavities
of varying sizes (60–100 µm) distributed throughout the volume, which
can be adjusted by modifying the 3D printing parameters. These cavities
are of interest for further characterization due to their potential appli­
cations, as depicted in finite element simulation models (Fig. 5f). The
shape and configuration of voids in a 3D-printed thermoelectret are
illustrated (Fig. S1 with associated discussion S1, Supplementary In­
formation). An atomic force microscopy (AFM) topography image is
used to visualize and quantify the surface roughness at the individual
polymer lines, which exhibits a root-mean-square roughness value of
0.85 ± 0.10 µm, indicating a highly rough surface (Fig. 2d). The
wettability of the printed PLA surface is studied using water contact
angle measurements (Fig. 2e), which confirm its strong hydrophobic
nature with a contact angle of 112 ± 2◦ [49,50]. This is interesting as
PLA typically exhibits hydrophilic properties, but the presence of linear
microstructures on the printed surface may contribute to the increased
contact angle and resulting hydrophobicity [51].
Further, to characterize the elemental composition of the printed
PLA film, an X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was employed. The
survey spectrum of the printed PLA film in the binding energy range
from 0 to 1350 eV is shown in Fig. 2f. It confirms the calculated atomic
ratio of C and O is 56:44 (Table S2), which is consistent with the theo­
retically calculated value, i.e., ~ 60:40. The detailed information of the
corresponding C 1s elemental state is presented in Fig. 2g. The CH2–CH3,
C–OH, and C– –O–C bonds attribute to the peaks at 285.1, 287.1, and
289.2 eV, respectively, in the binding energy range of 282 – 292 eV. The
respective C atomic ratio present in CH2–CH3, C–OH, and C– –O–C bonds
is 40:30:30, which is almost similar to the earlier reported C atomic ratio
for the same bonds in the pure PLA [52]. The high-resolution O 1s
spectra (Fig. 2h) represent the peaks associated with C–O and C– –O
bonds at 532.3 eV and 533.8 eV [52]. The higher intensity of the O 1s
peak at 533.8 eV occurred due to oxygen absorption at the surface of
printed PLA [53]. The C 1s and O 1s spectra confirm that the 3D-printed
PLA retained its chemical composition as pure PLA. The elemental
mapping (Fig. S2) reveals the uniform distribution of C and O elements
on the surface of printed PLA film.
3.2. Thermoelectret formation with corona discharge treatment
To elucidate the thermoelectret formation in a 3D-printed porous
PLA film upon corona discharge treatment, the proposed mechanism is
demonstrated in Fig. 3a. The 3D-printed porous film contains cavities in
the entire volume (Fig. 3a(i)), with random orientation of polar group
(–C––O) inside the helical PLA polymer chain (Fig. 3b(i)) that canceled
out the resulting dipole moment. While, after corona discharging at
elevated temperature (higher than Tg), the –C– –O polar groups tend to
orient along the electrical field direction (Fig. 3b(ii)), promoting to a
significant polarization [26,54]. In the presence of a high electric field
(~ MV/m), the trapped air inside the cavities gets ionized due to the
Paschen breakdown [19,55]. Afterward, opposite charges are separated
from ionized air due to the presence of a high electric field that formed
micro dipoles within the inner surface cavities (Fig. 3a(ii)) [56]. Thus,
corona discharge treatment with temperature induces net polarization
due to a cooperative response from molecular dipoles (–C– –O) of PLA
and forms micro dipoles within the internal cavities. The orientation of
molecular dipoles (–C– –O) is further confirmed by the XPS study, i.e.,
the high-resolution C 1s and O 1s window (Fig. 3c-d) of neat (untreated)
and corona discharged PLA films (top and bottom surfaces) were
recorded After corona discharge treatment, the peak ratio corresponding
to C––O–C and CH2–CH3 species (i.e., IC=O–C /ICH2 –CH3 ~ 1.15) from the
top surface enhanced in comparison to the untreated top surface (i.e.,
D. Saini et al.
Fig. 2. Surface characterization of 3D printed PLA film. (a) 3D model (CAD) image, SEM image of (b) the top surface, and (c) the cross-sectional area, (d) 3D view of
AFM topography image (75 × 75 µm2) of 3D printed PLA film, (e) Water contact angle (WCA) measurement of 3D printed PLA film, (f) XPS survey scan, and high-
resolution XPS spectra of (g) C 1s and (h) O 1s.
IC=O–C /ICH2 –CH3 ~ 0.72). In contrast, it decreases in the case of the bot­
tom surface (i.e., IC=O–C /ICH2 –CH3 ~ 0.62). This resembles that after
corona discharge, photoelectron counts from oxygen species are
increased on the top surface, while it decreases for the bottom surface in
comparison to the neat PLA surface. This supports the fact that dipole
(–C––O) orients along the electric field direction due to corona discharge
treatment (Fig. 3b(ii)). Similarly, the same fact can also be observed
from the O 1s signal (Fig. 3d), if one considers the peak ratio between
C––O and C–O species of the untreated and treated PLA surfaces.
To examine the influence of corona discharge treatment on electro­
active phases and polarization states of the 3D printed films at different
temperatures, Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR) (Fig. 4a-b) were
recorded. The change in the shape of the vibrational band between 840
and 880 cm− 1 is annotated as an increase in the degree of crystallization.
The characteristic vibrational band at 871 cm− 1 is attributed to C–C
backbone stretching, which overlaps with the vibrational band at
860 cm− 1 assigned for skeletal stretching [57,58]. With the increase in
temperature, the peak shifts from 871 to 867 cm− 1, and becomes
significantly narrower, denoting the crystallization process takes place
[58]. The intensity ratio of symmetric (1088 cm− 1) and asymmetric
(1184 cm− 1) stretching bands of the C–O–C group (Iνsy /Iνas ) is 0.8 for
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neat PLA film, whereas it is 1.2 for corona discharged PLA film (Fig. 4a),
which denotes the significant change in the orientation of C–O–C bond is
noted due to corona discharge treatment. The absorption band at
1265 cm− 1 corresponds to the vibration mode of δ(C–H) + ν(C–O–C)
attributed to the crystalline band for PLA [59,60]. Thus, the appearance
of this band (Fig. 4a) after corona discharge treatment signifies the
generation of crystalline nature [58,60]. The bands at 1360 cm− 1 and
1401 cm− 1 are assigned to the crystalline and amorphous characteristics
of the PLA, respectively [61]. After corona discharge treatment, the
appearance of the band at 1360 cm− 1 and the disappearance of the band
at 1401 cm− 1 (Fig. 4b) signify the improvement of the degree of crys­
tallinity. These observations support the fact that polar bonds in the
polymer chain are getting oriented in a particular direction due to the
application of the electric field and supplied thermal energy. It is further
confirmed by the retained behavior of the vibrational bands when the
electric field is applied without heat treatment (Fig. S3). The absorbance
band, which commonly lies within the ranges of 1810 – 1710 cm− 1, is
the signature of C– –O stretching, which is primarily responsible for the
piezoelectric behavior of PLA [56,58]. The shifting of the C–O –
stretching band from 1757 to 1749 cm− 1 indicates the change in the
orientation (Fig. 4b) upon the corona discharge treatment [62]. It is
D. Saini et al.
Fig. 3. Formation of thermoelectret with corona discharge treatment. (a) Schematic of the printed PLA film (i) before, and (ii) after corona discharge treatment, (b)
Schematic of PLA polymer chain conformation (i) before, and (ii) after corona discharge treatment, High-resolution XPS spectra (c) C 1s, and (d) O 1s of top and
bottom surface of untreated and corona discharge treated PLA film.
noteworthy to mention that the overall FTIR spectra of corona discharge
PLA specimen are similar to the electrospun PLA fiber [57,58], which
specifies that in both cases electric field plays an essential role in ori­
enting the C– –O dipoles and polarization of the polymer chain. This
supports the fact that 3D-printed PLA film exhibits thermoelectret
behavior after corona discharge treatment.
We have conducted the XRD measurement of the thermoelectret to
investigate the degree of crystallinity (Xc), which is confirmed by the
crystalline characteristics of PLA thermoelectret. The XRD pattern
(Fig. 4c) of an untreated PLA thermoelectret displays a broad, amor­
phous halo, whereas a corona-treated PLA thermoelectret illustrates
several intense peaks. In particular, peaks at (2θ) 15◦ , 16.7◦ , 19◦ , 29◦
and 31◦ are characteristic of the α phase, corresponding to the (010),
(110)/(200), (203), (216) and (0010) plane respectively [63,64].
Whereas the peaks at (2θ) 25.1◦ , 27.7◦ , and 31.2 imply the presence of β
crystalline phase [63,65]. Thus, it is concluded that after corona
discharge treatment, a mixture of α and β crystallites are developed (Xc
~ 54%) in PLA thermoelectret film.
The thermoelectret material generates polarization when exposed to
a strong electric field (~MV/m) and varying temperatures (ranging from
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Sensors and Actuators: A. Physical 365 (2024) 114858
50◦ to 110◦ C) by aligning the dipoles along the direction of the field
[18]. To investigate how polarization changes with the electric field at
different temperatures, P-E loop measurements are performed. The
thermoelectret material displayed a gradual increase in remanent po­
larization (Pr) as the temperature rose, proving that the 3D-printed PLA
film does not exhibit ferroelectric behavior (as depicted in Fig. 4d) [40].
In contrast, ferroelectric materials, such as P(VDF-TrFE), shown in
Fig. 4d for comparison, demonstrate a gradual decrease in remanent
polarization with increasing temperature [20]. It is worth noting that
the micro-pores within the electret material act as micro-dipoles when
subjected to an electric field [66,67]. Typically, the production of
electrets involves artificially trapping charges within the larger voids of
porous polymer structures to create oriented quasi-dipoles [68,69]. In
this specific case, electric charges were injected into the porous
3D-printed PLA film using corona discharge treatment. This treatment
induces the orientation of -C– –O dipoles and stabilizes the trapped
charges, which occurs above the glass transition temperature (for
example, within the temperature range of 50–110 ◦ C). All of these
findings support the thermoelectret behavior observed in the 3D-printed
PLA film.
D. Saini et al.
Fig. 4. FTIR spectra of untreated and corona-discharge treated PLA films in the absorption range (a) 2000 – 800 cm− 1, (b) 1800 – 1350 cm− 1, (c) XRD patterns of
untreated and corona-discharged treated 3D-printed thermoelectret, Inset is showing the enlarged view of the 2θ ~24–33◦ range. (d) Variation in remanent po­
larization (Pr) with temperature for thermoelectret (non-ferroelectric) and PVDF-TrFE (ferroelectric) samples.
3.3. Surface potential of 3D printed PLA thermoelectret
To examine the surface potential of 3D printed thermoelectret PLA
film, a probe of the electrostatic voltmeter is placed just above the
surface of PLA films, which is kept on a movable x-y stage as illustrated
in Fig. 5a. The top and bottom surfaces of the corona discharge treated
PLA films at different temperatures from 30◦ to 110◦ C are labeled as T#
and B#, Where T, B, and # represent the top surface, bottom surface,
and temperature (30 – 110 ◦ C) respectively. The measured surface po­
tential of the top and bottom surfaces of corona-treated PLA films at
different temperatures are displayed in Fig. 5b. It epitomizes that
initially, the surface potential is lower (~ ± 0.1 kV) at RT; later, it in­
creases as the temperature rises and reached optimum magnitude (i.e.,
~ ± 1 kV) in the temperature range of 60 – 70 ◦ C. However, when the
corona discharge temperature is reached above 70 ◦ C, then the surface
potential starts decreasing. The enhancement of surface potential near
60 ◦ C might be due to the relaxation of polymer chains that start at the
glass transition temperature (58 ◦ C, Fig. S4), which allows the charge
carriers to trap within the 3D-printed porous film. Also, it polarizes the
surface dipoles (–C– –O) along the electric field direction. However, at
higher temperatures (i.e., > 70 ◦ C), the excessive dipole relaxation
speeds up the randomization of –C– –O dipoles due to high rotational
energy that reduces the surface potential [57]. The surface potential
behavior of 3D printed PLA film is analogous to earlier reports on
thermoelectret [30]. Further, to investigate the stability of the surface
potential of the corona-discharged PLA films, the surface potential decay
is studied over a long period of time (Fig. 5c-d). It is observed that the
surface potential decreases initially, but it is constant after a specific
duration (i.e., 14 days), and no further decay of surface potential with
time is observed (as recorded again after 45 days). At the time of corona
discharge, air trapped inside the cavities is ionized and acts as macro­
scopic dipoles, while atmospheric air near the electret surface gets
ionized and resides on the surface due to its interaction with surface
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molecules. Later, the surface charge decays over time due to its inter­
action with surroundings [31,33], which causes decay in surface po­
tential [68], while the trapped charge inside cavities stays uninterrupted
due to the unavailability of atmospheric air, and these trapped charges
exhibit the stable surface potential. In addition, we have encapsulated
the fabricated thermoelectret film into PDMS, which restricts its inter­
action with atmospheric air as well. Earlier work on PLA electret shows
sharp decay of the surface potential in a few hours [55,59]. Here, in this
work, the porous structure of PLA film is responsible for stable surface
potential, which traps charges effectively. To realize the variation in the
surface potential of PLA film after corona discharge, a quantitative
measurement of surface potential is performed at different positions on
the top surface of PLA film before and after corona discharge. The
resultant surface potential mapping before and after corona discharge
treatment is shown in Fig. 5e(i) and 5e(ii), respectively. The surface
potential mapping shows an almost uniform surface potential distribu­
tion on the film surface after corona discharge. The influence of the
obtained high surface potential in energy harvesting performance can be
realized from the open circuit voltage, short circuit current, and giant
piezoelectric coefficient, which is almost three times higher after corona
discharge treatment. To understand the experimentally observed higher
surface potential on corona-treated PLA films, finite element analysis is
performed (Fig. 5f). The finite element technique is used to optimize the
suitable void size for which the surface potential would be maximum.
Further, the surface potential was mapped, which shows excellent sur­
face potential in comparison to untreated 3D printed film in terms of
magnitude and distribution.
3.4. Performance of 3D-TEH
The mechanism diagram for mechanical energy harvesting and
pressure sensing of the 3D-TEH under mechanical pressure is depicted
schematically in Fig. 6a [70]. The corona discharging treatment
D. Saini et al. Sensors and Actuators: A. Physical 365 (2024) 114858

Fig. 5. The surface potential behavior of 3D printed thermoelectret PLA film treated with corona discharge at different temperatures (Mean ± SD; N = 16). (a)
Schematic of surface potential measurement set-up, (b) Variation in the surface potential of top and bottom surfaces, (c) Study of variation in surface potential over
time, (d) Behavior of surface potential over time for the colored region shown in Figure c, (e) Surface potential distribution mapping on the top surface of PLA film
before (i), and after (ii) corona discharge treatment, (f) Finite element analysis for the surface potential of 3D printed thermoelectret.

produces positive and negative charges (macro-dipoles) within the
surface of internal cavities, which are separated by the height of cavities,
which induces dipole moment inside the cavities. Additionally, the
–C––O polar groups tend to orient along the electrical field direction,
contributing to a significant polarization. Thus, corona discharge
treatment with temperature excites net polarization due to a cooperative
response from molecular dipoles (–C– –O) of PLA and micro dipoles
within the internal cavities. The generated net polarization on the
thermoelectret surface accelerates the formation of charges (of opposite
nature) at the surface of the thermoelectret, which engenders the
accumulation of positive and negative charges on the top and bottom
surfaces of electrodes. As the mechanical force is applied to the ther­
moelectret, it compresses, and the distance between the positive and
negative charges residing at the thermoelectret surface has reduced that
leads to a change in net polarization along the thickness direction, which
facilitates the flow of electrons from top to bottom electrode, hence a
positive output voltage is observed (Fig. 6a). Further, as the mechanical
force is released, the distance between the positive and negative is
starting to increase that speed up the net polarization change in the
opposite direction, which promotes the flow of electrons from the bot­
tom to the top electrode; hence a negative output voltage is observed.
Therefore, as a result of the mechanical compression and release action,
the corresponding voltage signal is produced, which can be used to
monitor the applied force/pressure on the 3D-TEH. The output re­
sponses (open circuit voltage, Voc ⁓ 3 ± 0.2 V and short circuit current
density, Isc ⁓ 4.7 ± 0.25 mA/m2) from 3D-TEH are represented in
Figs. 6b and 6c when 10 N of external force is applied with 4 Hz of
frequency[71]. The obtained electrical output (i.e., 0.9 ± 0.1 V of
peak-to-peak voltage response) from control 3D-TEH generates due to
the electret behavior of 3D printed porous film and soft piezoelectric
behavior of PLA (Fig. 6b) [62,72]. After corona discharge, the electrical
output increases ⁓ 300% compared to the control 3D-TEH due to uni­
formly oriented charged micro-dipoles. The calculated d33 of

7
D. Saini et al. Sensors and Actuators: A. Physical 365 (2024) 114858

Fig. 6. The energy harvesting performance of 3D-TEH. (a) Schematic of the energy harvesting and pressure sensing mechanism of the 3D-TEH, (b) The obtained
open-circuit voltage (Voc), (c) Short circuit current density (Isc), and (d) Response time of the fabricated 3D-TEH. (e) Obtained Voc, (Isc), and power density at various
load resistance (RL) range 10 kΩ - 100 MΩ, the inset indicates the operated 9 green LEDs directly connected to the 3D-TEH (Video S1), (f) The commercial capacitor
charging performance of fabricated 3D-TEH using the circuit diagram shown in the inset.

8
D. Saini et al. Sensors and Actuators: A. Physical 365 (2024) 114858

Fig. 7. Biomechanical signal monitoring using 3D-TEH. Output voltage response with (a) finger bending, (b) elbow bending, (c) knee bending, and (d) Measured
voltage output response of repeated coughing actions and (e) corresponding short-time Fourier transform (STFT) spectrogram, recorded with 3D-TEH, (f) Output
voltage responses of the fabricated 3D-TEH for normal walking while placed at different locations (Middle, Heel-Pad, and Met-Head) on the human foot.

∫
Idt obtained power is capable of powering up nine green LEDs without any
thermoelectret PLA film is ⁓ 350 ± 15 pC/N, estimated from d33 = F ,
external support of batteries (inset of Fig. 6e and Video S1). The per­
where I is the current amplitude within the time interval dt upon the
formance of 3D printed thermoelectret was further compared with other
application of applied external force (F) [3,6], which is ⁓ 333% higher
reported energy harvesting work where nanogenerators are developed
in comparison to the control 3D printed film (Fig. S5). It reveals that due
using 3D printing and other techniques, as provided in Table S3. The
to thermoelectret properties, a transverse electromechanical response,
energy harvester performance was compared on the basis of power
governed by the d33 coefficient, significantly dominates over the shear
density and the performance factor, which is defined as generated
piezoelectricity, as it usually appears in PLA (Table S1). The fast
piezo-voltage (peak to peak) per unit applied pressure (kPa). The
response time of ~ 7 ms (Fig. 6d) illustrates that 3D-TEH also has the
comparative results show a better or comparable performance of
capability to be used as a potential tactile sensor. To determine the
3D-printed thermoelectret than most of the earlier reported results. To
maximum efficiency of the 3D-TEH instantaneous voltage drop (Voc) and
examine the self-powered capabilities of 3D-TEH, an electronic circuit
current density (Isc) over various load resistances ranging from 10 kΩ to
consists of a bridge diode rectifier, and a commercial capacitor is con­
100 MΩ is demonstrated under an external force of 10 N (Fig. 6e). Here,
nected to 3D-TEH as shown in the schematic of the circuit diagram (inset
Voc increases as the load resistance increases, while Isc decreases due to
of Fig. 6f). The 3D-TEH is capable of charging up the commercial ca­
the building up of resistive load and get saturated at infinitely large
pacitors of 1, 2.2, and 4.7 µF up to 1.5, 1.4, and 1.1 V, under the cyclic
resistance. The electrical density (P) is calculated from Voc across load
load of 10 N within the period of 20–40 s with the time constant
resistance (RL) using the formula P = AR
Voc
L
, where A is the effective device (required time to attain 63% of its steady-state charging voltage) of 13,
area. The estimated output power density is ⁓ 25 mW/m2 at RL 1 MΩ. It 20 and 23 s, respectively as illustrated in Fig. 6f. It reveals the fast power
suggested that the maximum output power lies at the same load resis­ supply of the fabricated 3D-TEH. The fatigue test is performed that
tance where Voc and Isc intersect each other, as evident from Fig. 6e. The shows till 30,000 cycles, a stable current response is sustained,

9
D. Saini et al.
Fig. 8. (a) Photographs of human index finger bending at different angles
(above) and output voltage response performance of 3D-TEH under index finger
movement (below) (b) corresponding STFT spectrogram of finger-bending ac­
tion with different angles.
indicating that the 3D-TEH has high endurance over a longer period of
time (Fig. S6).
Supplementary material related to this article can be found online at
doi:10.1016/j.sna.2023.114858.
3.5. Biomechanical signal monitoring and pressure mapping
The biomechanical signals are recorded to explore the sensing per­
formance of the 3D-TEH as a self-powered pressure sensor (Fig. 7). In
order to monitor the biomechanical responses, the mechanoelectrical
sensitivity (Sp) of 3D-TEH is recorded over the externally applied
pressure range of 0.1 – 45 kPa (Fig. S7). For instance, ~ 36 mV/kPa of Sp
is achieved within the lower pressure range regime (0.1 – 0.5 kPa), and
for the higher-pressure range (0.5–45 kPa), the Sp is ~ 8.86 mV/kPa.
For measuring biomechanical signals, the 3D-TEH is attached to
different bone joints (finger, elbow, and knee), and the output voltage
response arising from the bending-releasing motion (flexion and
extension) of the finger, elbow, and knee joints is recorded (Fig. 7a-c).
The voltage responses are different for different types of bone-joint
motions that indicate 3D-TEH can distinguish the motion of the finger,
elbow, and knee joints. In addition, the identical voltage response for
finger bending and releasing motion proves that the output signal is
possible to record without any unwanted artifacts. A similar observation
is also found in the case of elbow and knee joint motions. As the specific
bone-joint motion is identical, the output response follows the same,
which can be utilized to monitor the recovery of internal bone injury at
the bone joints of any living being. Since the nature of the observed
voltage response is the same for specific bone-joint motion, the bone-
joint motion may be predicted by examining the voltage signal.
Recent reports suggest that bone-joint injuries are possible to track by
recording the output response of a piezoelectric film that is attached to
broken bone [73]. In our study, it is also expected that 3D-TEH is
possible to use to collect various types of bone-joint movements, which
can then be examined by health professionals for monitoring bone-joint
injuries. Next, the 3D-TEH is placed on a solid wall, and the voltage
10
Sensors and Actuators: A. Physical 365 (2024) 114858
response for coughing is recorded, as illustrated in Fig. 7d. It infers that
3D-TEH is able to respond to the air pressure generated due to coughing.
This is directly associated with the motion of the Larynx valves of vocal
cords that directly determine the health condition [74]. The
time-dependent frequency distribution of the output voltage response of
coughing sound is performed using a short-time Fourier transform
(STFT) analysis. The observed frequency range of coughing signals in
the 200–500 Hz band (Fig. 7e) corresponds to the frequency charac­
teristics of healthy young individuals [75]. The spectrogram of repeated
coughing actions demonstrates the ability of the 3D-TEH system to track
changes in acoustic waveforms over time, making it well-suited for ap­
plications in voice recognition and speech rehabilitation training for
individuals’ vocal cord response. In particular, it could potentially aid in
the diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) condi­
tions such as asthma and chronic bronchitis [76]. Further, it is placed at
different locations of the foot palm (met-head, middle, and heel pad) as
displayed in the inset of Fig. 7f, and then the output voltage response of
normal walking is recorded (Fig. 7f). Since the pressure distribution at
the human foot is not uniform, so the output voltage response is ex­
pected to be different. For instance, the output response (Fig. 7f) from
the ‘middle’ parts of the palm is lower; however, relatively higher re­
sponses are obtained in the case of the ‘met-head’ and ‘heel pad’ parts
which are consistent with the pressure distribution of the human foot
during walking conditions. The obtained output response specifies that
the 3D-TEH is capable of distinguishing the pressure at different points
on the human foot, which might be useful for foot pressure distribution
measurement.
In addition, the bio-signals from finger bone-joint motions of index
finger bending and releasing motion at various bending angles, such as
30, 60, and 90◦ (Fig. 8a), are significantly found different, as also
evident from the corresponding STFT plot, illustrated in Fig. 8b. The 3D-
TEH generates a higher voltage response (and thus amplitude)
comparatively with the higher bending of the finger due to the induced
larger strain. Thus, it is expected that STFT analysis could be possible to
use to diagnose bone-joint injury recovery as well.
Foot pressure mapping is a cutting-edge engineering topic that is
becoming increasingly popular. It is frequently noted that increased
body mass aids to several diseases, and it also causes discomfort in the
foot and ankle, such as stress fractures and plantar fasciitis [77].
Increasing foot plantar pressure (the pressure field located between the
foot and a supporting surface) causes more strain on the soft tissue of the
plantar surface, which leads to major difficulties in foot ulcers in dia­
betic neuropathy patients [78]. Crawford et al. have provided clear
evidence that plantar pressure mapping is an effective tool for detecting
elevated plantar pressures linked with the formation of diabetic foot
ulcers [79]. Thus, regular foot pressure monitoring could be the remedy
of early intervention if any pre-symptoms of foot ulceration are noticed
[80]. Thus, it could greatly minimize the occurrence of foot ulcers. Ac­
cording to Bus, foot plantar pressures have been shown to have critical
therapeutic significance in terms of lowering the probability of initial
ulceration and re-ulceration [81].
Furthermore, pressure sensors can help physicians to detect foot
pressure irregularities that can prevent possible injuries. This can help
also athletes reduce discomfort and balance visual pressures on their
feet, decreasing damage during physical exercises like squats. Moreover,
these devices could be used to detect abnormalities in the gait cycles as
well. Consequently, we believe that by objectively detecting peak
plantar pressures, our suggested thermoelectret-based device will aid in
the early detection of signs of numerous illnesses, such as stress frac­
tures, plantar fasciitis, ulcer formation, etc. It would be beneficial for
both clinicians and patients for early intervention if any abnormalities
are detected. Lastly, we have fabricated several PLA films (size ~
2 ×2 cm2) treated with corona discharge. After depositing the Al elec­
trode, PDMS coating is performed to prevent environmental, mechani­
cal, and chemical damage (Fig. S8). Then, a mat of a certain area (to
cover the desired foot size) is arranged using the fabricated
D. Saini et al.
Fig. 9. Foot pressure mapping performance of the 3D-TEH array. (a) Schematic
of foot pressure distribution on the 3D-TEH array, (b) pixel mapping of human
foot pressure distribution using the 3D-TEH array.
thermoelectret PLA films in a 19 × 8 matrix array (3D-TEH array) for
foot pressure mapping (Fig. 9a). Based on the output voltage response
from the 3D-TEH array, we have measured the pressure distribution of
the right foot of a 25-year-old volunteer, as illustrated in Fig. 9b, which
is consistent with the theoretically predicted model [82]. Therefore, the
as-fabricated 3D-TEH is applicable to monitor recovery from bone joint
injury as well as foot pressure distribution measurement.
In addition, we have prepared a 4 × 4 3D-TEH array comprised of
several 3D-TEHs, which is further utilized for tactile pressure mapping
(Fig. 10). The 3D printed slabs with different letters shape (i.e., I, N, S,
and T) are used as input pressure onto the 3D-TEH array (upper portion),
as displayed in Fig. 10a. These slabs are dropped from a constant height
of 10 cm, and the electrical output response is recorded due to the
pressure impact. As a result, the 3D-TEH tactile array shows the pressure
distribution with respect to their shapes (Fig. 10b). Thus, as prepared
3D-TEH array is applicable for pixel mapping, particularly to capture the
Fig. 10. (a) Schematic of the 3D-TEH sensor array with imparted PLA slab with shaped “I, N, S, and T”, (b) pressure mapping using the 3D-TEH sensor array.
11
Sensors and Actuators: A. Physical 365 (2024) 114858
human motion movement.
4. Conclusion
In this work, a self-powered 3D-THE is fabricated with PLA ther­
moelectret film, which enables human health care monitoring in a non-
invasive mode. The corona discharge treatment at an elevated temper­
–O) and ionizes the
ature reorients polar dipoles in field direction (-C–
trapped air inside the porous 3D-printed electret that induces high
surface potential ( ± 1 kV), termed thermoelectret. The 3D-TEH exhibits
superior mechanical energy harvesting performance, as evident from ~
4.7 ± 0.25 mA/m2 of short circuit current density and 3 ± 0.2 V of open
circuit voltage under 10 N of imparting force. The high-power density
(⁓ 25 mW/m2) of the 3D-TEH is ascribed due to a high piezoelectric
coefficient (⁓ 350 ± 15 pC/N).
The energy harvesting and mechano-sensing performance of the
fabricated 3D-TEH ensure the possibility to be used as a self-powered
bio-medical device. For instance, it is capable of distinguishing the
signals corresponding to different bone-joints motion; thus, the related
injuries are possible to monitor. In addition, the 3D-THE-made sensor
array has been testified to measure the human foot pressure distribution,
which has immense importance in examining the real-time body-mass
balance. Thus, this work represents an approach to fabricating a highly
efficient thermoelectret-based bio-medical device that could be used in
injury recovery, motion detection, healthcare, and growth monitoring. It
has envisioned the utility in on-spot patient-specific bone injury due to
the instant printing by the ability of any desired complex shape by 3D
printing technology, where PLA-like biopolymer is also possible to use.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Dalip Saini: Conceptualization, Data Curation, Investigation,
Methodology, Software, Writing-original draft. Ajay Kumar: Data
Curation, Investigation. Hari Krishna Mishra: Data Curation, Investi­
gation. Varun Gupta: Data Curation, Investigation. Bidya Mondal:
Data Curation, Investigation. Zinnia Mallick: Data Curation, Investi­
gation. Dipankar Mandal: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition,
Formal analysis, Writing-review & editing, Resources, Supervision.
D. Saini et al.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Data Availability
Data will be made available on request.
Acknowledgment
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the
CRG - SERB, Govt. of India (No. CRG/2020/4306). DS would like to
thank DST for providing the INSPIRE fellowship (IF190548).
Appendix A. Supporting information
Supplementary data associated with this article can be found in the
online version at doi:10.1016/j.sna.2023.114858.
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L. Yue, Q. Wu, C.L. Kuo, K.W.H. Lo, C.T. Laurencin, H. Ilies, P.K. Purohit, T.
D. Nguyen, Biodegradable piezoelectric force sensor, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A.
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stable cantilever for vibration energy harvesting applications, Adv. Sustain. Syst. 1
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[48] C. Lagomarsini, C. Jean-Mistral, S. Monfray, A. Sylvestre, Optimization of an
electret-based soft hybrid generator for human body applications, Smart Mater.
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[49] U. Modi, S. Prakash, Wettability of 3D printed polylactic acid (PLA) parts, AIP
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[50] E. Fortunati, F. Luzi, D. Puglia, F. Dominici, C. Santulli, J.M. Kenny, L. Torre,
Investigation of thermo-mechanical, chemical and degradative properties of PLA-
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D. Saini et al. Sensors and Actuators: A. Physical 365 (2024) 114858

[51] J. Xu, Y. Hou, Z. Lian, Z. Yu, Z. Wang, H. Yu, Bio-inspired design of bi/
tridirectionally anisotropic sliding superhydrophobic titanium alloy surfaces,
Nanomaterials 10 (2020) 2140. Mr. Dalip Saini is pursuing his Ph.D. from the Department of
[52] J. Kowalonek, I. Vuković-Kwiatkowska, D. Moszyński, H. Kaczmarek, Surface Quantum Materials and Devices at the Institute of Nano Sci­
properties of poly(lactic acid)/polyacrylate semi-interpenetrating networks – effect ence and Technology (INST), Mohali, India. He received his M.
of UVC radiation, Polym. Degrad. Stab. 131 (2016) 71–81. Sc. and B.Sc. degrees in physics from the Central University of
[53] M.V. Paranjape, S.A. Graham, H. Patnam, P. Manchi, J.S. Yu, 3D printed Haryana, India, in 2018 and the University of Rajasthan, India,
bidirectional rotatory hybrid nanogenerator for mechanical energy harvesting, in 2016, respectively. His research interest mainly includes 3D
Nano Energy 88 (2021), 106250. printing electret, energy harvesting using piezo-, pyro- tribo-,
[54] A. Guzhova, M. Galikhanov, Charge depth in polylactic acid electret filled with fine and magneto-electric nanogenerator, self-powered for human-
filler, Bulg. Chem. Commun. 47 (2015) 103–108. health monitoring, security and motion-detection, wirelessly
[55] R.W. Crowe, J.K. Bragg, Thomas, G. Virginia, Space charge formation and the real-time data transmission, and IOT based smart application
townsend mechanism of spark breakdown in gases, Phys. Rev. 96 (1954) 10–14.
[56] M. Goel, Electret sensors, filters and MEMS devices: new challenges in materials
research, Curr. Sci. 85 (2003) 443–453.
[57] A. Sultana, S.K. Ghosh, V. Sencadas, T. Zheng, M.J. Higgins, T.R. Middya,
D. Mandal, Human skin interactive self-powered wearable piezoelectric bio-e-skin
by electrospun poly-l-lactic acid nanofibers for non-invasive physiological signal
monitoring, J. Mater. Chem. B. 5 (2017) 7352–7359. Mr. Ajay Kumar is a doctorate candidate at INST, Mohali,
[58] C. Ribeiro, V. Sencadas, C.M. Costa, J.L. Gómez Ribelles, S. Lanceros-Méndez, India. Prior to that, he completed M. Sc. (2018) and B. Sc.
Tailoring the morphology and crystallinity of poly(L-lactide acid) electrospun (2016) in Physics (H) from SLIET (CFTI) Sangrur, India, and
membranes, Sci. Technol. Adv. Mater. 12 (2011), 015001. Ramjas College, Delhi University, respectively. His research
[59] G. Kister, G. Cassanas, M. Vert, Effects of morphology, conformation and interest is to study the physics of ferro,-piezo- and pyro-electric
configuration on the IR and Raman spectra of various poly(lactic acid)s, Polymer materials (polymer and 2D materials based) and their device
39 (1998) 267–273. fabrication for the end application
[60] H. Urayama, S.-I. Moon, Y. Kimura, Macro microstructure and thermal properties
of polylactides with different L- and D-unit sequences: importance of the helical
nature of the L-sequenced segments, Macromol. Mater. Eng. 288 (2003) 137.
[61] J. Zhang, H. Tsuji, I. Noda, Y. Ozaki, Structural changes and crystallization
dynamics of poly(L-lactide) during the cold-crystallization process investigated by
infrared and two-dimensional infrared correlation spectroscopy, Macromolecules
37 (2004) 6433–6439.
[62] A. Farahani, A. Zarei-Hanzaki, H.R. Abedi, L. Tayebi, E. Mostafavi, Polylactic acid
piezo-biopolymers: chemistry, structural evolution, fabrication methods, and tissue
engineering applications, J. Funct. Biomater. 12 (2021) 71. Dr. Hari Krishna Mishra has received his Ph.D. degree from
[63] L. Su, J. Zou, S. Dong, N. Hao, H. Xu, Influence of different β-nucleation agents on IISER Mohali, India, in 2023. He has carried out his doctorate
poly(L-lactic acid): Structure, morphology, and dynamic mechanical behavior, RSC work in INST, Mohali, India. He received his M.Sc. (2016) and
Adv. 7 (2017) 55364–55370. B.Sc.(2014) degrees in Physics from CSJM University, Kanpur,
[64] K. Takahashi, D. Sawai, T. Yokoyama, T. Kanamoto, S.H. Hyon, Crystal India, respectively. His research interest is focused on
transformation from the α- to the β-form upon tensile drawing of poly(L-lactic designing polymer-based nanomaterials and 2D transition
acid), Polymer 45 (2004) 4969–4976. metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) of piezo-, pyro-, and ferro-
[65] H.M. De Oca, I.M. Ward, Structure and mechanical properties of poly(L-lactic acid) electric properties for the mechanical energy harvester, self-
crystals and fibers, J. Polym. Sci. B Polym. Phys. 45 (2007) 892–902. powered devices, energy storage, and physiological signal
[66] S.K. Ghosh, M. Xie, C.R. Bowen, P.R. Davies, D.J. Morgan, D. Mandal, A hybrid monitoring.
strain and thermal energy harvester based on an infra-red sensitive Er3+ modified
poly(vinylidene fluoride) ferroelectret structure, Sci. Rep. 7 (2017) 16703.
[67] S. Bauer, R. Gerhard-Multhaupt, G.M. Sessler, Ferroelectrets: soft electroactive
foams for transducers, Phys. Today 57 (2004) 37–43.
[68] A. Guzhova, T. Yovcheva, A. Viraneva, Study of polylactic acid corona electrets,
Bulg. Chem. Commun. 47 (2015) 115–120.
[69] A.A. Guzhova, M.F. Galikhanov, Y.A. Gorokhovatsky, D.E. Temnov, E. Dr. Varun Gupta has received his Ph.D. degree from IISER
E. Fomicheva, E.A. Karulina, T.A. Yovcheva, Improvement of polylactic acid Mohali, India, in 2023. He has carried out his doctorate work in
electret properties by addition of fine barium titanate, J. Electro 79 (2016) 1–6. INST, Mohali, India. He has received his BS-MS degree in
[70] X. Zhang, P. Pondrom, G.M. Sessler, X. Ma, Ferroelectret nanogenerator with large physics (2016) from IISER Bhopal, India. His research interest
transverse piezoelectric activity, Nano Energy 50 (2018) 52–61. is focused on polymer-based nanomaterials with piezo-, pyro-
[71] S.K. Ghosh, D. Mandal, High-performance bio-piezoelectric nanogenerator made and ferro-electric properties for mechanical, thermal energy
with fish scale, Appl. Phys. Lett. 109 (2016), 103701. harvesters, and self-powered devices. During this PhD tenure,
[72] Z. Hanani, I. Izanzar, S. Merselmiz, T. El Assimi, daoud mezzane, M. Amjoud, he explored the SPM techniques to understand nanoscale
H. Uršič, U. Prah, J. Ghanbaja, I. Saadoune, M. Lachini, M. Spreitzer, D. Vengust, electromechanical properties.
M. El Marssi, Z. Kutnjak, I.A. Luk’yanchuk, M. Gouné, A flexible self-poled
piezocomposite nanogenerator based on H2(Zr0.1Ti0.9)3O7 nanowires and
polylactic acid biopolymer, Sustain. Energy Fuels 31–33 (2022).
[73] Z. Gao, X. Wang, Y. Zhao, J. Jin, G. Wang, S. Gao, Piezoelectric-based smart bone
plate for, J. Shanghai Jiaotong Univ. (Sci. ) 27 (2022) 561–569.
[74] J.M. Kaufman, A.T. Masc, Y. Fossat, Acoustic analysis and prediction of type 2
diabetes mellitus using smartphone-recorded voice segments, MAYO Clin. Proc.
Mr. Bidya Mondal is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Nano
Digit. Heal. 1 (2023) 534–544.
Science and Technology (INST), India. In prior to that, he ob­
[75] S.K. Ghosh, D. Mandal, Bio-assembled, piezoelectric prawn shell made self-
tained B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Physics from the University of
powered wearable sensor for non-invasive physiological signal monitoring, Appl.
Burdwan in 2018 and the Indian Institute of Technology (In­
Phys. Lett. 110 (2017), 123701.
dian School of Mines) Dhanbad in 2020, respectively. His
[76] P. Piirila, A.R.A. Sovijarvi, Objective assessment of cough, Eur. Respir. J. 8 (1995)
research interest includes piezoelectric and photovoltaic-based
1949.
energy harvesting.
[77] D.L. Riddle, M. Pulisic, P. Pidcoe, R.E. Johnson, Risk factors for plantar fasciitis: a
matched case-control study, J. Bone Jt Surg. 85 (2003) 872–877.
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S. Ulbrecht, P.R. Cavanagh, Plantar pressures in diabetic patients with foot ulcers
which have remained healed, Diabet. Med. 26 (2009) 1141–1146.
[79] F. Crawford, M. Inkster, J. Kleijnen, T. Fahey, Predicting foot ulcers in patients
with diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis, Qjm 100 (2007) 65–86.
[80] J. Fletcher, Nurs Times., The foot in diabetes. 92 (1996) 88–90.
[81] S.A. Bus, Innovations in plantar pressure and foot temperature measurements in
diabetes, Diab. Metab. Res. Rev. 32 (2016) 221–226.
[82] Y.C. Lai, H.S. Lin, H.F. Pan, W.N. Chang, C.J. Hsu, J.H. Renn, Impact of foot
progression angle on the distribution of plantar pressure in normal children, Clin.
Biomech. 29 (2014) 196–200.

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D. Saini et al. Sensors and Actuators: A. Physical 365 (2024) 114858

Ms. Zinnia Mallick is a PhD candidate at the Department of Prof. Dipankar Mandal received his PhD in 2008 from BTU
Quantum Materials & Devices at the Institute of Nano Science Cottbus (currently known as BTU Cottbus-Senftenburg), Ger­
and Technology, Mohali, India. Prior to that, she obtained her many. Prior to that, he obtained his MTech in Materials Science
MSc in Physics (2017) from Presidency University, Kolkata. and Eng. (2004) and MSc in Physics (2002) from IIT Khar­
Her research interest includes the study of nanoscale piezo, agpur, India, and Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India, respec­
pyro and ferroelectric properties of materials, piezo and pyro­ tively. He is currently working as a Scientist at the Institute of
electric sensors, and perovskite photovoltaics. Nanoscience and Technology (INST), Mohali, India. He was an
Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics, Jadavpur
University Kolkata, India from 2008 to 2017. His research in­
terests include the synthesis of advanced multifunctional ma­
terials, flexible electronics, piezo-, tribo-, pyro-, ferro-and
flexo-electric materials, organic photovoltaics, and electro-
spinning systems for the development of new-generation
nanofiber fabrication, 3D printing, smart textiles, and AI/ML aided non-invasive bio-
sensors for healthcare monitoring, and designing mechanical and thermal energy har­
vesters for self-powered devices and IoTs

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