OREANDA-NEWS  A new water-repellent material for creating electronics operating in conditions of high humidity was developed by scientists from BFU and NUST MISIS as part of a scientific group. The article was published in the Journal of Composites Science.

Modern science strives to create new materials with a unique combination of properties capable of solving a wide range of tasks, researchers at the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University said.

Specialists from BFU and NUST MISIS, together with colleagues from Italy, have developed such a material. It is both magnetic and hydrophobic, that is, it repels water. This was achieved through the use of bismuth ferrite nanoparticles, which, when added to a special polymer matrix (polyvinylidene fluoride), give it water-repellent properties.

"Thanks to bismuth ferrite, the surface becomes more rough and porous, which determines its hydrophobic properties," said Valeria Rodionova, Director of the BFU Smart Materials and Biomedical Applications Research Center.

According to her, such material can be used to create new magnetic sensors. Due to their water-repellent ability, such sensors will be useful for the development of memory devices and magnetic sensors resistant to moisture.

"The created material has not only magnetic, but also photovoltaic properties, which makes it possible to consider it for creating sensors capable of generating electric current when exposed to sunlight," commented Denis Petrukhin, laboratory researcher at the BFU Smart Materials and Biomedical Applications Research Center.