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Durable, Sensitive, and Wide‐Range Wearable Pressure Sensors Based on Wavy‐Structured Flexible Conductive Composite Film
Author(s) -
Shen Yepeng,
Wang Yanbin,
Luo Zhonglin,
Wang Biaobing
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
macromolecular materials and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.913
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1439-2054
pISSN - 1438-7492
DOI - 10.1002/mame.202000206
Subject(s) - materials science , pressure sensor , thermoplastic polyurethane , composite number , piezoresistive effect , response time , composite material , sensitivity (control systems) , optoelectronics , nanotechnology , mechanical engineering , computer science , electronic engineering , computer graphics (images) , elastomer , engineering
Flexible pressure sensors have potential applications in human motion monitoring and electronic skins. To satisfy the practical applications, pressure sensors with a high sensitivity, a low detection limit, a broad response range, and an excellent stability are highly needed. Here, a piezoresistive pressure sensor based on wavy‐structured single‐walled carbon nanotube/graphite flake/thermoplastic polyurethane (SWCNT/GF/TPU) composite film is fabricated by a prestretching process. Due to the random wavy structure, high conductivity, and good flexibility, the prepared sensor displays a low detection limit of 2 Pa, a wide sensing range of 0–60 kPa, and a high sensitivity of 5.49 kPa −1 for 0–50 Pa. Furthermore, the sensor shows a remarkable repeatability of over 1.1 × 10 4 , 9.0 × 10 3 , and 2.0 × 10 3 pressure loading/unloading cycles at 50 Pa, 500 Pa, and 30 kPa, respectively, and a fast responsibility of 100–150 ms of loading response time and 400–600 ms of relaxation time. Therefore, the pressure sensor is successfully adopted to monitor both the large‐scale human activities (e.g., walk and jump) and the small‐scale signals (e.g., wrist pulse). Furthermore, a sensor array is assembled to map the weight and shape of an object, indicating its various potential applications including human–machine interactions, human health monitoring, and other wearable electronics.