FULLY PRINTED ELECTRONICS AND ENERGY DEVICES VIA LOW-DIMENSIONAL NANOMATERIALS FOR SMART PACKAGING

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: ACTIVE
• Funding Source: AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1032012
• Grant No.: 2021-67021-42113
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $269,534.17
• Proposal No.: 2024-03869
• Project Start Date: Jul 1, 2024
• Project End Date: Jan 31, 2026
• Grant Year: 2024
• Program Code: [A1511]- Agriculture Systems and Technology: Nanotechnology for Agricultural and Food Systems

Recipient Organization
Case Western Reserve University
10900 Euclid Avenue
CLEVELAND,OH 44106

Performing Department
(N/A)

Non Technical Summary
The urgent need for innovative solutions to enhance food safety and security is undeniable. It's estimated that one-third of the global food supply is wasted annually, amounting to a staggering loss of $1 trillion each year. This considerable waste could be significantly reduced by merely extending the lifespan of products by one day. Additionally, there is a growing consumer demand for enhanced integrity of food products, guaranteed food safety, and transparent information regarding food quality and history throughout the entire supply chain.Smart packaging emerges as a transformative solution to drastically improve food quality and safety while simultaneously minimizing waste. The integration of wireless sensors into food packaging labels, for instance, allows for the monitoring of food quality, the detection of changes in transport and storage conditions, and facilitates easy access to detailed information. Moreover, smart packaging plays a crucial role in enhancing supply chain management, preventing theft, protecting brands, and ensuring compliance, with the global market for smart packaging projected to reach $23.38 billion by the end of 2021.This project aims to creating a prototype smart packaging system employing printed nanomaterial-based electronics and energy devices to monitor food quality and safety across supply chains. The system will incorporate sensor-based smart or intelligent tags, seamlessly integrated into food packaging, capable of monitoring environmental conditions such as temperature--a critical factor influencing the safety and quality of perishable foods. These sensors are designed to detect rot in fruits and vegetables, spoilage in meat, fish, and poultry, and the presence of major foodborne pathogens. Utilizing advanced printing technologies, these electronic and energy devices will be fabricated on flexible smart tags using low-dimensional nanomaterials, making package identification and sensing data accessible via smartphones or RFID readers. Through rigorous testing with various packaged food products, this system aims to detect physical, chemical, and biological changes in the packaged environment, ensuring unparalleled food quality and safety.

Animal Health Component

40%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

30%

Applied

40%

Developmental

30%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
402	5340	2020	100%

Knowledge Area
402 - Engineering Systems and Equipment;

Subject Of Investigation
5340 - Nonfarm structures and related facilities;

Field Of Science
2020 - Engineering;

Keywords

food safety

nanomaterials

printed electronics

smart packaging

Goals / Objectives
This project aims to innovate a cost-effective, wireless smart packaging system utilizing fully printed, self-powered sensor-based RFID tags to ensure the monitoring of food quality and safety throughout the food supply chain--from packaging, through transportation and storage, to distribution and retail.To realize this aim, we have outlined five specific objectives, each corresponding to a critical task:1) Printing the flexible sensor array for food quality and safety detection; 2) Printing the RFID antenna for wireless tracking and communication; 3) Printing flexible batteries for the active sensor-RFID tag; 4) Integration of a smart packaging tag system; and 5) Evaluation of the integrated prototype system.

Project Methods
This project will be spearheaded by graduate research assistants, focusing on the experimental creation, testing, and fine-tuning of advanced electronic components using printing technologies like aerosol jet printing and screen printing. The primary objective is to design and produce high-quality sensors, RFID tags, and batteries. Through a detailed investigation into the printing parameters and ink characteristics, we aim to enhance both the functionality and manufacturing quality of these devices.Once developed, the prototypes of these sensors and the integrated packaging tag system will undergo thorough testing with a variety of packaged food products. Selections for testing will cover a broad range of food types, including poultry, meat, seafood, dairy products, fruits, and vegetables, with examples such as ground beef, fish, cheese, apples, and spinach. These tests are designed to validate the capability of the smart packaging tags in real-world applications.A critical expectation for this project is the precision of these tags in monitoring temperature fluctuations, maintaining an accuracy within 1°C, and detecting signs of spoilage or bacterial contamination with a reliability of 97% accuracy (less than 3% false positive/negative rate). This initiative promises to significantly advance food safety standards by offering innovative solutions for real-time monitoring and quality assurance in food packaging.

Progress 07/01/24 to 01/31/25

Outputs
Target Audience:During this reporting period, our efforts have engaged a diverse range of stakeholders, including: Engineers and Scientists- Researchers and professionals involved in nanomaterials, printed electronics, sensors, energy harvesting, and battery technologies for smart systems. Food Safety Experts- Specialists dedicated to advancing food safety through innovative technologies and materials. Consumers- End-users of food and agricultural products who benefit from enhanced quality, safety, and sustainability. Farmers- Agricultural producers seeking advanced solutions to improve efficiency, productivity, and crop monitoring. Industry Stakeholders- Business leaders and decision-makers in food production, processing, and transportation, focusing on integrating smart technologies into their supply chains. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project has offered valuable training and hands-on experience to two PhD students, one master's student, and two undergraduate studentsfrom CWRU. These students received practical exposure tosensor design and fabricationusing additive manufacturing processes, as well aswireless communication hardware design and testing. The skills acquired through this project are highly applicable to current industry demands. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?·Publications- Five journal papers have been published or accepted in high-impact journals, with one additional paper currently under review. Another manuscript, focusing on printed high-quality conductive polymers, is in preparation. ·Presentations- Project findings were shared through three invited presentations atTMS2024,GRC Nanoscale Science and Engineering for Agriculture and Food Systems,andOregon State University. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the next reporting period, we plan to: Complete the electrochemical ammonia and bacteria sensor system- This will include finalizing both the sensing element and the necessary instrumentation circuitry. The system will undergo performance characterization in controlled environments. Integrate wireless passive RFID sensor tags- The sensing elements will be incorporated into the RFID platform for testing and further validation. Finalize the printed battery- The printed battery will be integrated with the sensor system to create smart tags capable of monitoring package conditions and providing real-time data.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? During this reporting period, significant progress was made in several areas: We optimized the temperature sensor using graphene and successfully fabricated and tested electrochemical sensors forE. coli, ammonia, and CO? detection. This was achieved through aerosol jet printing technology on flexible substrates. We have also initiated the development of suitable circuits for data processing. We developed a novel electrolyte aimed at improving kinetics and suppressing dendrite formation in Zn-S batteries. Additionally, we advanced technologies utilizing high-dielectric composite separators to enhance lithium-ion transport and sulfur conversion kinetics in Li-S batteries. This foundational work will inform the next phase of printed battery development.

Publications

• Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Yaokun Pang, Zhida Huang, Yuhui Fang, Xianchen Xu, Changyong (Chase) Cao*. Toward Self-Powered Integrated Smart Packaging System - Desiccant-based Triboelectric Nanogenerators, Nano Energy, 114, 108659, 2023.
• Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Zhida Huang, Hao Wang, Lei Chen, Bo Li, Changyong (Chase) Cao*. A Meshfree Phase-Field Model for Simulating the Sintering Process of Metallic Particles for Printed Electronics, Engineering with Computers, 40, 2241, 2024.
• Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: 17. Yunmeng Li, Xin Liu, Zewei Ren, Jianjun Luo, Chi Zhang, C. Chase Cao, Hua Yuan, Yaokun Pang*. Marine Biomaterial-based Triboelectric Nanogenerators: Insights and Applications. Nano Energy, 119, 109046, 2024.
• Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Sonatan K. Biswas, Md Shariful Islam, Fei Jia, Yunteng Cao, Yanbin Li*, C. Chase Cao*. Flexible Biosensors for Pathogen Detection, Advanced Electronic Materials, 2300898, 2024.
• Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2024 Citation: Zhongxiu Liu, Md Shariful Islam, Yuhui Fang, Meifang Zhu, C. Chase Cao*, Guiyin Xu*. Design Strategies and Performance Enhancements of PVDF-based Flexible Electrolytes for High-Performance All-Solid-State Lithium Metal Batteries. Nanoscale, accepted, 2024.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Changyong (Chase) Cao. Additive Manufacturing of Flexible and Stretchable Electronics from Low-Dimensional Nanomaterials. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, November 14, 2024.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Changyong (Chase) Cao. Printed Multifunctional Wearable E-Textiles from Water-based Silver Conductive Inks, 2024 TMS Annual Meeting and Exhibition, Orlando, FL, March 3-7, 2024.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: M. S. Islam, S. K. Biswas, Y. Pang, A. Purandare, A. Mason, P. Chahal, Y. Li, C. Chase Cao*. Fully Printed Smart Packaging Tags via Low-dimensional Nanomaterials. GRC Nanoscale Science and Engineering for Agriculture and Food Systems. June 23-28, 2024.