Engineering & Technologyarticle2026-08-29

Freestanding Hierarchical‐Porous BCZT Thin Films Enable Efficient Ultrasonic Energy Harvesting in Soft Tissue

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Abstract

ABSTRACT Excellent electromechanical properties of piezoceramic thin films facilitate ultrasonic energy harvesting in bioelectronic systems. However, most piezoceramic thin films are fragile and cannot maintain mechanical integrity under deformation, hindering their application in soft tissue coupling. Here, we report a freestanding hierarchical‐porous barium calcium zirconate titanate (BCZT) thin film that combines crack resistance with efficient ultrasonic energy harvesting. The hierarchical‐porous structure, fabricated using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a porogen, disperses tensile‐side stress concentration and suppresses crack initiation, while reducing the acoustic‐impedance mismatch with soft tissue and suppressing interfacial ultrasound reflection. The film exhibits reduced permittivity and a high piezoelectric voltage coefficient of g 33 = 97 × 10 −3 V·m/N, resulting in a maximum output power that is approximately 1.5 times that of the dense BCZT thin film under identical ultrasound excitation, evaluated at the respective optimal loads. Owing to its excellent piezoelectric performance, the film also enables reliable detection of weak vibrations, such as radial artery pulse‐wave signals. This work demonstrates a hierarchical‐porous structure for simultaneously improving acoustic coupling, mechanical reliability, and electromechanical transduction in freestanding piezoceramic thin films, highlighting their potential for wearable sensing and implantable ultrasound‐powered bioelectronics.

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View paper (DOI)Open access versionOpenAlexAdvanced SciencePublished 2026-08-29

Authors: Yi Zheng, Shengwei Gao, Wang Hong, Yuxin Chen, Yiyang Gu, Xu Wang, Chen Tang, Ying Hong, Xuemu Li, Xiaodong Yan, Yi Zheng, Yiming Liu, Junchen Liao, Biao Wang, Shiyuan Liu

Institutions: University of Hong Kong, Sichuan University, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, South China University of Technology, City University of Hong Kong, Macau University of Science and Technology, University of Macau, West China Medical Center of Sichuan University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Technology Holding (United States), Beijing Institute of Technology