Neuron-inspired CsPbBr₃/PDMS nanospheres for multi-dimensional sensing and interactive displays

Multifunctional materials have attracted tremendous attention in intelligent and interactive devices. However, achieving multi-dimensional sensing capabilities with the same perovskite quantum dot (PQD) material is still in its infancy, with some considering it currently challenging and even unattainable. Drawing inspiration from neurons, a novel multifunctional CsPbBr₃/PDMS nanosphere is devised to sense humidity, temperature, and pressure simultaneously with unique interactive responses. The carefully engineered polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) shell enables the reversible activity of the core CsPbBr₃, serving a dual role similar to dendrites in conveying and evaluating external stimuli with high sensitivity. Molecular dynamics analysis reveals that the PDMS shell with proper pore density enhances the conductivity in water and heat, imparting CsPbBr₃ with sensitive but reversible properties. By tailoring the crosslinking density of the PDMS shell, nanospheres can surprisingly show customized sensitivity and reversible responses to different level of stimuli, achieving over 95% accuracy in multi-dimensional and wide-range sensing. The regular pressure-sensitive property, discovered for the first time, is attributed to the regular morphology of the nanosphere, the inherent low rigidity of the PDMS shell, and the uniform distribution of the CsPbBr₃ core material in combination. This study breaks away from conventional design paradigms of perovskite core-shell materials by customizing the cross-linked density of the shell material. The reversible response mechanism of nanospheres with gradient shell density is deeply explored in response to environmental stimuli, which offers fresh insights into multi-dimensional sensing and interactive display applications.