Piezochromic Materials for Pressure Sensors

Title:

Piezochromic Materials for Pressure Sensors

Tech ID: 

2024-002

Status:

Active 

Category:

Chemistry and Materials Science

Executive Statement:

A novel class of easily synthesized pyrylium-based materials that change color under pressure, enabling advanced pressure sensing applications.

Description:

This technology introduces piezochromic materials based on pyrylium salts, which exhibit reversible color changes when subjected to pressure. These small organic molecules feature a simple six-membered cationic heterocyclic structure with positively charged oxygen and various counterions. Unlike existing materials, pyrylium salts allow easier synthesis and offer unique multicolor-switching properties under pressure, making them ideal for innovative pressure sensor designs and other material science applications.

Key Advantages:

• Simple molecular structure enabling straightforward synthesis
• Cost-effective manufacturing due to inexpensive raw materials
• Reversible and distinct piezochromic color changes for reliable pressure indication
• Versatile integration into coatings, compositions, and surfaces
• Potential to map stress distribution and identify high-stress regions in structures

Problems Solved:

• Complex and costly synthesis processes in existing piezochromic materials
• Lack of reversible, easily detectable color changes under pressure
• Difficulty in non-invasive stress mapping for structural health monitoring
• Limited low-cost, miniaturized pressure sensing solutions

Marketing Opportunity:

• Pressure sensors in automotive, aerospace, and industrial sectors
• Stress and strain mapping in engineering structures and materials
• Coatings and surfaces requiring real-time pressure or stress indication
• Development of low-cost, miniaturized sensor devices including MEMS
• Advanced wave-guides and communication technologies leveraging pressure response

Inventors: 

• Pradip Bhowmik
• Haesook Han
• Egor Evlyukhin

Intellectual Property:

• U.S Provisional Patent 63/537,414, filed 9/8/2023
• U.S. Patent Cooperation Treaty PCT/US2024/045637, filed 9/6/2024
• Foreign Patent EP 24863695.3, filed 4/8/2026