Multifunctional metamaterial sensor and nanogenerator

The next generation of materials needs to be adaptive, multifunctional and tunable. This goal can be achieved by metamaterials that enable development of advanced artificial materials with novel functionalities. There is arguably a critical shortage in research needed to engineer new aspects of intelligence into the texture of metamaterials for multifunctional applications. The goal of this study is to create a new generation of multifunctional composite mechanical metamaterials called self-aware composite mechanical metamaterial (SCMM) with complex internal structures toward achieving self-sensing and self-powering functionalities. We develop finely tailored and seamlessly integrated microstructures composed of topologically different topologically materials to form a hybrid sensor and nanogenerator mechanical metamaterial system. Experimental studies are conducted to understand the mechanical and electrical behavior of the multifunctional SCMM systems. We highlight how introducing the self-sensing and self-powering functionality into the material design could in theory lay the foundation for living engineered materials and structures that can sense, empower and program themselves using their constituent components.