Piezoelectric composite articles

1. A composite article comprising:

1) a first dry piezoelectric layer (first dry PL) comprising a piezoelectric material and having first and second opposing surfaces, and

2) one or more dry electrically-conductive layers arranged contiguously with at least one of the first and second opposing surfaces of the first dry PL, wherein at least one of the dry electrically-conductive layers (dry ECL-P) consists essentially of:

(a) an electrically-conductive material; and

(b) particles distributed within the (a) electrically-conductive material, the (b) particles having a Young's modulus that is different from the Young's modulus of the (a) electrically-conductive material by at least 10%, and which (b) particles have a d50 of at least 500 nm and up to and including 500 μm and a polydispersity coefficient that is less than or equal to 3;

provided that:

the weight ratio of the (b) particles to the (a) electrically-conductive material is at least 0.01:1 and up to and including 10:1,

when the dry ECL-P is arranged adjacent to an insulating substrate, it exhibits a resistivity of less than 10,000 ohms-cm, and

optionally, the ECL-P further includes a (c) binder material that is non-electrically-conductive and has a weight average molecular weight of at least 5,000.

2. The composite article of claim 1 , wherein the (a) electrically-conductive material comprises particles having a median equivalent spherical volume diameter of at least 1 nm and up to and including 1000 μm and a polydispersity coefficient that is less than 2.

3. The composite article of claim 1 , wherein the (a) electrically-conductive material comprises one or more of silver, gold, platinum, palladium, copper, nickel, titanium, and an electrically-conductive form of carbon.

4. The composite article of claim 1 , wherein the (a) electrically-conductive material is an electrically-conductive organic polymer.

5. The composite article of claim 1 , wherein the (a) electrically-conductive material consists essentially of silver nanoparticles having a d50 of less than or equal to 60 μm and a d90 of less than or equal to 500 μm.

6. The composite article of claim 1 , wherein the (a) electrically-conductive material is present in an amount of at least 2 weight % and up to and including 99 weight %, based on the total weight of the dry ECL-P.

7. The composite article of claim 1 , wherein the (b) particles are composed of one or more polymeric materials.

8. The composite article of claim 1 , wherein the (c) binder material comprises one or more polyurethanes, acrylate polymers, polyvinyl acetals, or polyacrylate precursors to an acrylate polymer.

9. The composite article of claim 1 , wherein the at least one dry ECL-P is arranged contiguously with the first opposing surface of the first dry PL.

10. The composite article of claim 9 , further comprising a first dry electrically-conductive layer (first dry ECL) containing no (b) particles, which is arranged contiguously with the second opposing surface of the first dry PL.

11. The composite article of claim 10 , further comprising a second dry electrically-conductive layer (second dry ECL-P) that is arranged contiguously with the first dry ECL that is arranged contiguously with the second opposing surface of the first dry PL.

12. The composite article of claim 9 , further comprising a second dry electrically-conductive layer containing (b) particles (second dry ECL-P) that is arranged contiguously with the second opposing surface of the first dry PL.

13. The composite article of claim 1 , wherein the at least one dry ECL-P is arranged contiguously with the first surface of the first dry PL, and the composite article further comprising a first dry electrically-conductive layer containing no (b) particles (first dry ECL), which first dry ECL is arranged contiguously with the at least one dry ECL-P that is arranged contiguously with the first surface of the first dry PL.

14. The composite article of claim 13 , further comprising a second dry electrically-conductive layer containing no (b) particles (second dry ECL) that is arranged contiguously with the second opposing surface of the first dry PL.

15. The composite article of claim 13 , further comprising a second dry electrically-conductive layer containing (b) particles (second dry ECL-P) that is arranged contiguously with the second opposing surface of the first dry PL.

16. The composite article of claim 1 , comprising a first dry electrically-conductive layer (first dry ECL) containing no (b) particles, which first dry ECL is arranged contiguously with the first surface of the first dry PL, and the dry ECL-P is arranged contiguously with the first dry ECL.

17. The composite article of claim 16 , further comprising a second dry electrically-conductive layer containing no (b) particles (second dry ECL) that is arranged contiguously with the second opposing surface of the first dry PL.

18. The composite article of claim 16 , further comprising a second dry electrically-conductive layer containing (b) particles (second dry ECL-P) that is arranged contiguously with the second opposing surface of the first dry PL.

19. The composite article of claim 1 , further comprising a transparent polymeric outermost protective layer disposed over the dry ECL-P.

20. The composite article of claim 1 , wherein the first dry PL comprises beta phase polyvinylidene fluoride.

21. The composite article of claim 1 , wherein the (b) particles have a polydispersity coefficient of less than or equal to 1.5.

22. The composite article of claim 1 , further comprising a second dry piezoelectric layer (second dry PL) comprising a piezoelectric material, which second dry PL is arranged contiguously with an electrically-conductive layer that is arranged between the first dry PL and the second dry PL.