Fu Yu, Zhao Shijie, Wan Zhenshuai, Tian Ye, Wang Shuangkun
School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou 450001, China.
School of Mechanics and Safety Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China.
Nanomaterials (Basel). 2022 Aug 12;12(16):2762. doi: 10.3390/nano12162762.
Recently, flexible sensors have gained significant attention due to their potential applications in soft robotics and biomimetic intelligent devices. However, the successful production of favorable flexible sensors integrated with high flexibility, sensitivity and excellent environment adaptability toward multiple external stimuli is still an enormous challenge. Herein, a lightweight polymeric porous sponge capable of detecting an external magnetic field and strain excitations is proposed by assembling a sodium alginate/chitosan (SA/CHI) porous sponge with micron carbonyl iron and nanoscale FeO magnetic particles (MPs). Based on the double network structure, the SA/CHI sponge possesses preferable mechanical strength and hydrophilicity, demonstrating its high flexibility and deformability. More importantly, the electrical response of the SA/CHI sponge sensors can display remarkable variation under external magnetic and mechanical stimuli due to their superior magnetic characteristics and electrical conductivity. Meanwhile, their sensing properties can maintain relatively stable recoverability and repeatability towards the periodic excitations and releases. Additionally, a potential mechanism is provided to investigate their stimuli-sensitive behavior. It is highly dependent on the microstructure variations in MPs and conductive multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNTs) networks. Due to its exceptional magnetic controllability and appropriate electrical sensitivity, the proposed sensor shows high potential in wearable multi-sensing electronics and intelligent transport devices.
近年来，柔性传感器因其在软机器人技术和仿生智能设备中的潜在应用而备受关注。然而，成功制备出兼具高柔韧性、高灵敏度以及对多种外部刺激具有优异环境适应性的柔性传感器仍然是一项巨大的挑战。在此，通过将海藻酸钠/壳聚糖（SA/CHI）多孔海绵与微米级羰基铁和纳米级FeO磁性颗粒（MPs）组装在一起，提出了一种能够检测外部磁场和应变激励的轻质聚合物多孔海绵。基于双网络结构，SA/CHI海绵具有较好的机械强度和亲水性，展现出其高柔韧性和可变形性。更重要的是，由于其优异的磁特性和导电性，SA/CHI海绵传感器在外部磁场和机械刺激下能够表现出显著的电响应变化。同时，它们的传感特性对于周期性的激励和释放能够保持相对稳定的可恢复性和重复性。此外，还提供了一种潜在机制来研究其刺激敏感行为。这高度依赖于MPs和导电多壁碳纳米管（MWCNTs）网络中的微观结构变化。由于其出色的磁可控性和适当的电灵敏度，所提出的传感器在可穿戴多传感电子设备和智能运输设备中显示出巨大潜力。
