Recycled piezoelectric materials with competitive second-life functional properties

Recycled piezoelectric materials with competitive second-life functional properties | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Recycled piezoelectric materials with competitive second-life functional properties Mohadeseh Tabeshfar, Sivagnana Sundaram Anandakrishnan, Yang Bai This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7279805/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract EU laws restrict the use of hazardous elements in electrical and electronic equipment and encourage their recycling. However, lead is currently exempted from this restriction due to its indispensable role in essential piezoelectric materials. Here, we tackle this problem by demonstrating the feasibility of recycling lead-containing piezoelectric ceramics and giving them a second life, so that disposal of lead into the environment can be avoided or postponed. By exploring the use of a high-permittivity polymer binder in this work, we are able to achieve champion piezoelectric properties among all known recycled materials by consuming only negligible energy compared to that needed for producing new materials. We also provide insights into the roadmap of further developing the recycling method by mapping the correlations among decisive factors. The predicted results using commercially available materials as potential resources show a great promise to gain properties that are competitive with many energy-demanding alternatives. Materials Engineering piezoelectric sensing upside-down composite recycling RoHS Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files SupplementaryInformaitonPreprint.docx Supplementary information for Recycled piezoelectric materials with competitive second-life functional properties Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7279805","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":494750861,"identity":"39d0bf89-42fd-4d61-9414-7ad648f2fd5c","order_by":0,"name":"Mohadeseh Tabeshfar","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9429-0237","institution":"University of Oulu","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mohadeseh","middleName":"","lastName":"Tabeshfar","suffix":""},{"id":494750862,"identity":"6f53f3d1-1817-478d-9b98-261188192c08","order_by":1,"name":"Sivagnana Sundaram Anandakrishnan","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9008-4962","institution":"University of Oulu","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sivagnana","middleName":"Sundaram","lastName":"Anandakrishnan","suffix":""},{"id":494750863,"identity":"508e5f16-a2f4-4b50-9861-a8fc7e2671e8","order_by":2,"name":"Yang Bai","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAw0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYLACxgYGHn4gdYCBQY6HeC2SDQwMQC3GxGthMDgA0UJYtcHxs4dfMO6wkzE+3mNwmIfBQIawljN5aRaMZ5J5zM6cAWsh7DCDAzlmBoxtzDxmN3JAWv4QoeX8G5CWeh7jGTnE2nIjx/gBY9thHgMJYrVI3nhjxpB45jiPxJljBQfnGBChhe98jvGHjzuq7fnbmzc+eFNhYE9Qi8IBBjaJBIQ7CWpgYJBvYGD+QIS6UTAKRsEoGMkAAJOdOY3qgYXAAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0861-2410","institution":"University of Oulu","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yang","middleName":"","lastName":"Bai","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-08-02 17:58:42","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7279805/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7279805/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":88352393,"identity":"215e01af-05b7-47e1-a91a-27512fddf128","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-08-05 14:32:10","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1390977,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"PreprintRecyclePiezo.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7279805/v1_covered_9e4e9984-76ee-4051-85ab-39a23be583e1.pdf"},{"id":88351810,"identity":"f9cf1d79-d41d-4383-97b4-2fb0454d2b26","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-08-05 14:24:19","extension":"docx","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":12326718,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eSupplementary information for Recycled piezoelectric materials with competitive second-life functional properties\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"SupplementaryInformaitonPreprint.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7279805/v1/9a17ce59adbfc557c04d12f4.docx"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eRecycled piezoelectric materials with competitive second-life functional properties\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[{"identity":"2c5848ca-17f9-43e2-8673-5b8619c9bb4c","identifier":"10.13039/501100018948","name":"Infotech Oulu","awardNumber":"Spearhead project 2022-2025","order_by":0},{"identity":"ac3307c1-30c0-4e29-b4ef-d177dde56137","identifier":"10.13039/501100000781","name":"European Research Council","awardNumber":"101039110","order_by":1}],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"University of Oulu","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":true,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"piezoelectric, sensing, upside-down composite, recycling, RoHS","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7279805/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7279805/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eEU laws restrict the use of hazardous elements in electrical and electronic equipment and encourage their recycling. However, lead is currently exempted from this restriction due to its indispensable role in essential piezoelectric materials. Here, we tackle this problem by demonstrating the feasibility of recycling lead-containing piezoelectric ceramics and giving them a second life, so that disposal of lead into the environment can be avoided or postponed. By exploring the use of a high-permittivity polymer binder in this work, we are able to achieve champion piezoelectric properties among all known recycled materials by consuming only negligible energy compared to that needed for producing new materials. We also provide insights into the roadmap of further developing the recycling method by mapping the correlations among decisive factors. The predicted results using commercially available materials as potential resources show a great promise to gain properties that are competitive with many energy-demanding alternatives.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Recycled piezoelectric materials with competitive second-life functional properties","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-08-05 14:23:53","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7279805/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"f579a940-022d-4cfc-8057-84719e42270d","owner":[],"postedDate":"August 5th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":52546394,"name":"Materials Engineering"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-08-05T14:23:53+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-08-05 14:23:53","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7279805","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7279805","identity":"rs-7279805","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}