Huang Yan, Chen Yun, Fan Xiangyu, Luo Ningqi, Zhou Shuang, Chen Shih-Chi, Zhao Ni, Wong Ching Ping
Department of Electronic Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, 999077, China.
School of Electromechanical Engineering and Key Laboratory of Mechanical Equipment Manufacturing & Control Technology, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
Small. 2018 Jul 3:e1801520. doi: 10.1002/smll.201801520.
Natural wood possesses a unique 3D microstructure containing hierarchical interconnected channels along its growth direction. This study reports a facile processing strategy to utilize such structure to fabricate carbon/silicone composite based flexible pressure sensors. The unique contribution of the multichannel structure on the sensor performance is analyzed by comparing the pressure response of the vertically cut and horizontally cut composite structures. The results show that the horizontally cut composite based sensors exhibit much higher sensitivity (10.74 kPa ) and wider linear region (100 kPa, R = 99%), due to their rough surface and largely deformable microstructure. Besides, the sensors also show little hysteresis and good cycle stability. The overall outstanding sensing properties of the sensors allow for accurate continuous measurement of human pulse and respiration, benefiting the real-time health signal monitoring and disease diagnoses.
