College of Material Science and Engineering, Shenyang Aerospace University, Shenyang 110136, China.
College of Science, Shenyang Aerospace University, Shenyang 110136, China.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2022 Apr 6;14(13):15504-15516. doi: 10.1021/acsami.1c23567. Epub 2022 Mar 28.
The universal application of wearable strain sensors in various situations for human-activity monitoring is considerably limited by the contradiction between high sensitivity and broad working range. There still remains a huge challenge to design sensors featuring simultaneous broad working range and high sensitivity. Herein, a typical bilayer-conductive structure TiCT MXene/carbon nanotubes (CNTs)/thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) composite film was developed by a simple and scalable vacuum filtration process utilizing a porous electrospun thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) mat as a skeleton. The MXene/CNTs/TPU strain sensor is composed of two parts: a brittle densely stacked MXene upper lamella and a flexible MXene/CNT-decorated fibrous network lower layer. Benefiting from the synergetic effect of the two parts along with hydrogen-bonding interactions between the porous TPU fiber mat and MXene sheets, the MXene/CNTs/TPU strain sensor possesses both a broad working range (up to 330%) and high sensitivity (maximum gauge factor of 2911) as well as superb long-term durability (2600 cycles under the strain of 50%). Finally, the sensor can be successfully employed for human movement monitoring, from tiny facial expressions, respiration, and pulse beat to large-scale finger and elbow bending, demonstrating a promising and attractive application for wearable devices and human-machine interaction.
可穿戴应变传感器在各种情况下用于人体活动监测的普遍应用受到高灵敏度和宽工作范围之间的矛盾的极大限制。设计同时具有宽工作范围和高灵敏度的传感器仍然存在巨大挑战。在此，通过利用多孔静电纺丝热塑性聚氨酯（TPU）垫作为骨架的简单且可扩展的真空过滤工艺，开发了一种典型的双层导电结构 TiCT MXene/碳纳米管（CNTs）/热塑性聚氨酯（TPU）复合膜。MXene/CNTs/TPU 应变传感器由两部分组成：脆性的紧密堆叠的 MXene 上薄片和柔性的 MXene/CNT 修饰的纤维网络下层。得益于两部分的协同作用以及多孔 TPU 纤维垫和 MXene 片之间的氢键相互作用，MXene/CNTs/TPU 应变传感器具有宽工作范围（高达 330%）和高灵敏度（最大应变系数为 2911）以及出色的长期耐用性（在 50%的应变下可进行 2600 次循环）。最后，该传感器可成功用于人体运动监测，从微小的面部表情、呼吸和脉搏跳动到大规模的手指和肘部弯曲，为可穿戴设备和人机交互提供了有前景和吸引力的应用。
