Saleh Asala, Albiss Borhan
Nanotechnology Institute, Jordan University of Science and Technology B.O.Box Irbid 3030 Jordan
RSC Adv. 2025 Sep 15;15(40):33628-33636. doi: 10.1039/d5ra05866j. eCollection 2025 Sep 11.
Stretchable and flexible pressure sensors have attracted significant interest in a wide range of applications, including smart robots and health monitoring. However, many current materials lack the needed combination of flexibility, strength, and electrical conductivity. This study aimed to develop a nanocomposite hydrogel for a pressure sensor with enhanced mechanical and electrical properties. The sensor was fabricated by incorporating silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) into Arabic gum (AG) polyacrylic acid hydrogel (PAA), resulting in a more flexible and conductive polymer that features a relatively fast response time, quick recovery time, and a high sensitivity to pressure changes and human motion for high-performance sensing. The hydrogel synthesis involved polymerization of AA and AG, followed by physical crosslinking between polymer carbonyl groups and Fe in the presence of AgNPs and RGO, which were produced using ascorbic acid as a green reducing agent. In addition, the sensing behaviour was evaluated under different loading geometric tips-one with a square cross-section and the other shaped like a pyramid. The nanocomposite hydrogel demonstrates high sensitivity (0.136-1.832) kPa and rapid response and recovery times (28-32 ms/62-502 ms) in a low detection range (1.15-5.77) kPa. Different techniques, including Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), and X-ray Diffraction (XRD), were implemented to characterize the physicochemical properties of the nanocomposite hydrogel, while the mechanical properties of the sensor surface were investigated using nanoindentation analysis. The results showed that the nanocomposite hydrogel is a promising candidate for the next generation of flexible and wearable pressure sensing devices.
可拉伸且灵活的压力传感器在包括智能机器人和健康监测在内的广泛应用中引起了极大兴趣。然而，许多现有材料缺乏所需的柔韧性、强度和导电性的组合。本研究旨在开发一种用于压力传感器的纳米复合水凝胶，以增强其机械和电学性能。该传感器通过将银纳米颗粒（AgNPs）和还原氧化石墨烯（RGO）掺入阿拉伯胶（AG）聚丙烯酸水凝胶（PAA）中制成，从而得到一种更灵活且导电的聚合物，其具有相对较快的响应时间、快速恢复时间以及对压力变化和人体运动的高灵敏度，以实现高性能传感。水凝胶的合成包括AA和AG的聚合，随后在AgNPs和RGO存在的情况下，聚合物羰基与Fe之间进行物理交联，AgNPs和RGO是使用抗坏血酸作为绿色还原剂制备的。此外，在不同的加载几何尖端下评估传感行为——一个具有方形横截面，另一个形状像金字塔。纳米复合水凝胶在低检测范围（1.15 - 5.77）kPa内表现出高灵敏度（0.136 - 1.832）kPa以及快速响应和恢复时间（28 - 32 ms/62 - 502 ms）。采用了包括扫描电子显微镜（SEM）、原子力显微镜（AFM）、傅里叶变换红外光谱（FT - IR）和X射线衍射（XRD）在内的不同技术来表征纳米复合水凝胶的物理化学性质，同时使用纳米压痕分析研究传感器表面的机械性能。结果表明，纳米复合水凝胶是下一代柔性可穿戴压力传感设备的有前途的候选材料。
