A team of researchers at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice has developed a new class of sustainable, flexible, and biodegradable materials that could transform the future of wearable technologies, robotics, and green electronics. The study, published in ACS Nano and featured on its supplementary cover, demonstrates how chitosan-based thin films—derived from crustacean biowaste—can be engineered to achieve record piezoelectric performance.
Turning waste into innovation
Chitosan, a natural polymer obtained from chitin in crustacean shells, is already known for its biocompatibility and biodegradability. By incorporating chitin nanocrystals into chitosan films, the Ca’ Foscari-led team achieved a twofold increase in piezoelectric response. These soft, transparent films are also stretchable up to 40% strain and exhibit a low Young’s modulus (~100 MPa), closely mimicking the elasticity of human tissues.
Why it matters
Piezoelectric materials are the backbone of sensors, actuators, and energy harvesters. Today, most commercial devices rely on synthetic polymers like PVDF or inorganic ceramics such as PZT, which raise environmental and health concerns due to their toxicity, rigidity, or reliance on fluorinated compounds.
The Ca’ Foscari study shows that biobased materials can achieve competitive performance without compromising sustainability. The films are fully biodegradable, scalable in production, and derived from low-cost biowaste—an example of circular economy applied to advanced materials science.
Potential applications
Because of their softness and biocompatibility, the new chitosan nanocomposites are particularly suited for:
- Wearable and implantable sensors for health monitoring
- Soft robotics and prosthetics, where materials must deform like biological tissues
- Green energy harvesting devices for the Internet of Things
- Biodegradable electronics and packaging, reducing the impact of electronic waste
A collaborative effort
The research was carried out by the LION group (Laboratory for Innovation in Organic and Nanostructured materials) at Ca’ Foscari’s Department of Molecular Sciences and Nanosystems, in collaboration with international partners. The project received support from EU NextGenerationEU programs (PRIN 2022, iNEST ecosystem) and the PRIMA initiative for sustainable bio-based packaging.
Looking ahead
According to Giovanni Antonio Salvatore, corresponding author of the study, this work “opens the door to a new generation of sustainable-by-design materials for electronics, capable of replacing polluting polymers and bridging the gap between biological systems and technology.”
With this breakthrough, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice further strengthens its position at the intersection of materials science, sustainability, and technological innovation.
👉 Read the full article in ACS Nano: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.4c12855