Flexible BaTiO3-Au Vertically Aligned Nanocomposite for Multifunctional Sensing Platform

Flexible and wearable sensors hold great promise for personalized healthcare through real-time health monitoring. Recently, vertically aligned nanocomposites (VANs) have enabled various material combinations to achieve multifunctionalities, such as multiphase multiferroics, magneto-optic coupling, and strong magnetic and optical anisotropy, which are challenging to achieve with single-phase materials. Incorporating these VANs into wearable sensors offers significant potential for detecting multiple components through different properties. This study shows the growth and transfer of BaTiO3-Au VAN with Sr3Al2O6 as a buffer layer to achieve a multifunctional sensor. After dissolving the sacrificial layer, the VAN thin film is transferred onto polydimethylsiloxane to create a novel flexible chemical and pressure sensor. The piezoelectric output detecting the pressure change and the detection of 4-mercaptobenzoic acid via surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy demonstrate the potential of VANs in wearable multifunctional sensing platforms.