Discovery of Piezoelectric Effect in Liquids

Chemists at Michigan State University have accidentally discovered the piezoelectric effect in liquids while studying ionic liquids. The piezoelectric material was discovered as the researchers applied pressure to a sample of an ionic liquid in a cylinder, leading to the release of electricity. The researchers suggest that liquid piezoelectric materials could prove to be useful, especially ones made using ionic liquids, because they would be more environmentally friendly than solid materials and could allow more variety in device shape, opening up wider design opportunities.