Zhao Jiawei, Guo Haoyu, Liu Haiyang, Fu Tongqiang, Zhou Wenzhe, Zhu Zicai, Hu Qiao
School of Mechanical Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China.
State Key Lab for Strength and Vibration of Mechanical Structures, Soft Machines Lab, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2023 Oct 11;15(40):47327-47337. doi: 10.1021/acsami.3c10100. Epub 2023 Sep 28.
Flexible capacitive pressure sensors with high sensitivity over a wide pressure range are highly anticipated in the fields of tactile perception and physiological signal monitoring. However, despite the introduction of microstructures on the electrolyte layer, the deformability is still limited due to the size limitation of the microstructures, making it difficult to significantly improve the sensitivity of iontronic capacitive pressure sensors (ICPSs). Here, we propose an innovative strategy of combining carbon nanotubes (CNTs) topological networks and ionic hydrogel micropyramid array microstructures that can significantly enhance the sensitivity of flexible ICPSs for ultrasensitive pressure detection. Compared with other previously reported ICPSs, the sensor developed in this work exhibits an unprecedented sensitivity ( > 1050 kPa) and a high linear response ( > 0.99) in a wide pressure range (0.03-28 kPa) enabled by CNT percolation networks inside the microstructred electrolyte layer. This ultrasensitive and flexible ICPS also can effectively detect pressure from a variety of sources, including sound waves, lightweight objects, and tiny physiological signals, such as pulse rate and heartbeat. This work provides a general strategy to achieve an ICPS with both broader pressure-response range and higher sensitivity, which provides a stable and efficient way for a low-cost, scalable sensor for sensitive tactile sensing in human-computer interaction applications.
在触觉感知和生理信号监测领域，人们高度期待在宽压力范围内具有高灵敏度的柔性电容式压力传感器。然而，尽管在电解质层上引入了微结构，但由于微结构的尺寸限制，其可变形性仍然有限，这使得难以显著提高离子电子电容式压力传感器（ICPS）的灵敏度。在此，我们提出了一种将碳纳米管（CNT）拓扑网络与离子水凝胶微金字塔阵列微结构相结合的创新策略，该策略可显著提高柔性ICPS对超灵敏压力检测的灵敏度。与之前报道的其他ICPS相比，这项工作中开发的传感器在宽压力范围（0.03 - 28 kPa）内表现出前所未有的灵敏度（>1050 kPa）和高线性响应（>0.99），这是由微结构化电解质层内的CNT渗流网络实现的。这种超灵敏且柔性的ICPS还能有效检测来自各种源的压力，包括声波、轻质物体以及微小的生理信号，如脉搏率和心跳。这项工作提供了一种通用策略，以实现具有更宽压力响应范围和更高灵敏度的ICPS，为低成本、可扩展的传感器在人机交互应用中的灵敏触觉传感提供了一种稳定且高效的方法。
