Yao and co-workers investigated a plastic -
based piezoelectric material, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), which is low cost and readily undergoes mechanical strain.
Lookman and his colleagues focused on nickel - titanium -
based shape - memory alloys, but the strategy can be used for any
materials class (polymers, ceramics or nanomaterials) or target properties (e.g., dielectric response,
piezoelectric coefficients and band gaps).