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Understanding why the piezoelectric effect occurs in ionic liquids (room temperature molten salts) will provide insight into the unusual properties of ionic liquids and point the way toward purpose-driven design of piezoelectric liquids. which is one of the potential applications possible based on this discovery. Other applications include energy harvesting like solar or wind power that can be stored for later use and tactile sensing of pressure such as someone’s grip strength.

April 6, 2023

Ask the expert: Why is seeing the piezoelectric effect in liquids for the first time a big deal?

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Ask the expert, chemistry, ionic liquids, piezoelectric effect

The piezoelectric effect was first discovered in 1880 and is used in applications ranging from spark sources for stoves and gas furnaces to accelerometers in mobile phones for orientation and in automobiles to deploy airbags. While this effect has been known for a long time in solid materials, Gary Blanchard, a professor in the Department of Chemistry in MSU’s College of Natural Science and his graduate student, Md. Iqbal Hossain, were able to see the piezoelectric effect in a liquid for the first time — a finding that opens possibilities for new applications.