Issue

Vol. 16 (2024)

Blade-Coated Porous 3D Carbon Composite Electrodes Coupled with Multiscale Interfaces for Highly Sensitive All-Paper Pressure Sensors

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-024-01488-0
Bowen Zheng
State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Center of Advanced Lubrication and Seal Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, People’s Republic of China
Ruisheng Guo
State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Center of Advanced Lubrication and Seal Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, People’s Republic of China
Xiaoqiang Dou
State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Center of Advanced Lubrication and Seal Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, People’s Republic of China
Yueqing Fu
State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Center of Advanced Lubrication and Seal Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, People’s Republic of China
Bingjun Yang
Research Center of Resource Chemistry and Energy Materials, State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese of Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, People’s Republic of China
Xuqing Liu
State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Center of Advanced Lubrication and Seal Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, People’s Republic of China
Feng Zhou
State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Xuqing Liu

xqliu@nwpu.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 16 (2024), Article Number: 267

Abstract

Flexible and wearable pressure sensors hold immense promise for health monitoring, covering disease detection and postoperative rehabilitation. Developing pressure sensors with high sensitivity, wide detection range, and cost-effectiveness is paramount. By leveraging paper for its sustainability, biocompatibility, and inherent porous structure, herein, a solution-processed all-paper resistive pressure sensor is designed with outstanding performance. A ternary composite paste, comprising a compressible 3D carbon skeleton, conductive polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate), and cohesive carbon nanotubes, is blade-coated on paper and naturally dried to form the porous composite electrode with hierachical micro- and nano-structured surface. Combined with screen-printed Cu electrodes in submillimeter finger widths on rough paper, this creates a multiscale hierarchical contact interface between electrodes, significantly enhancing sensitivity (1014 kPa−1) and expanding the detection range (up to 300 kPa) of as-resulted all-paper pressure sensor with low detection limit and power consumption. Its versatility ranges from subtle wrist pulses, robust finger taps, to large-area spatial force detection, highlighting its intricate submillimeter-micrometer-nanometer hierarchical interface and nanometer porosity in the composite electrode. Ultimately, this all-paper resistive pressure sensor, with its superior sensing capabilities, large-scale fabrication potential, and cost-effectiveness, paves the way for next-generation wearable electronics, ushering in an era of advanced, sustainable technological solutions.


Highlights:
1 A blade-coated composite paste, composed of a compressible 3D carbon skeleton, PEDOT:PSS, and CNTs, can naturally dry to form a porous electrode on paper with a micro- and nano-structured surface.
2 The all-paper pressure sensor demonstrated an ultrahigh sensitivity of 1014 kPa−1, a wide responsive range up to 300 kPa, and an ultralow operating voltage of 0.01 V.
3 The sensor showcased superior detection capability, ranging from subtle wrist pulses and robust finger taps to large-area spatial force.

Keywords

Micro- and nano-structures PEDOT:PSS Flexible pressure sensors Health monitoring Multiscale interfaces
Zheng, Bowen, Ruisheng Guo, Xiaoqiang Dou, Yueqing Fu, Bingjun Yang, Xuqing Liu, and Feng Zhou. 2024. “Blade-Coated Porous 3D Carbon Composite Electrodes Coupled With Multiscale Interfaces for Highly Sensitive All-Paper Pressure Sensors”. Nano-Micro Letters 16 (August):267. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-024-01488-0.
Download Citation
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)
BibTeX
References
  1. Q.-J. Sun, X.-H. Zhao, Y. Zhou, C.-C. Yeung, W. Wu et al., Fingertip-skin-inspired highly sensitive and multifunctional sensor with hierarchically structured conductive graphite/polydimethylsiloxane foams. Adv. Funct. Mater. 29, 1808829 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201808829
  2. L. Chen, M. Lu, H. Yang, J.R. Salas Avila, B. Shi et al., Textile-based capacitive sensor for physical rehabilitation via surface topological modification. ACS Nano 14, 8191–8201 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.0c01643
  3. L. Shi, Z. Li, M. Chen, Y. Qin, Y. Jiang et al., Quantum effect-based flexible and transparent pressure sensors with ultrahigh sensitivity and sensing density. Nat. Commun. 11, 3529 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17298-y
  4. S. Baek, Y. Lee, J. Baek, J. Kwon, S. Kim et al., Spatiotemporal measurement of arterial pulse waves enabled by wearable active-matrix pressure sensor arrays. ACS Nano 16, 368–377 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.1c06695
  5. Z. Shi, L. Meng, X. Shi, H. Li, J. Zhang et al., Morphological engineering of sensing materials for flexible pressure sensors and artificial intelligence applications. Nano-Micro Lett. 14, 141 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-022-00874-w
  6. R. Kaveti, J.H. Lee, J.K. Youn, T.-M. Jang, W.B. Han et al., Soft, long-lived, bioresorbable electronic surgical mesh with wireless pressure monitor and on-demand drug delivery. Adv. Mater. 36, 2307391 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202307391
  7. R. Chen, T. Luo, J. Wang, R. Wang, C. Zhang et al., Nonlinearity synergy: an elegant strategy for realizing high-sensitivity and wide-linear-range pressure sensing. Nat. Commun. 14, 6641 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-42361-9
  8. H. Wang, X. Dou, Z. Wang, Z. Liu, Q. Ye et al., Boosting sensitivity and durability of pressure sensors based on compressible Cu sponges by strengthening adhesion of “rigid-soft” interfaces. Small 19, 2303234 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202303234
  9. K. Pang, X. Song, Z. Xu, X. Liu, Y. Liu et al., Hydroplastic foaming of graphene aerogels and artificially intelligent tactile sensors. Sci. Adv. 6, 4045 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abd4045
  10. B. Yin, X. Liu, H. Gao, T. Fu, J. Yao, Bioinspired and bristled microps for ultrasensitive pressure and strain sensors. Nat. Commun. 9, 5161 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-07672-2
  11. S. Yu, L. Li, J. Wang, E. Liu, J. Zhao et al., Light-boosting highly sensitive pressure sensors based on bioinspired multiscale surface structures. Adv. Funct. Mater. 30, 1907091 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201907091
  12. Y. Lee, J. Park, S. Cho, Y.-E. Shin, H. Lee et al., Flexible ferroelectric sensors with ultrahigh pressure sensitivity and linear response over exceptionally broad pressure range. ACS Nano 12, 4045–4054 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.8b01805
  13. M. Ha, S. Lim, J. Park, D.-S. Um, Y. Lee et al., Bioinspired interlocked and hierarchical design of ZnO nanowire arrays for static and dynamic pressure-sensitive electronic skins. Adv. Funct. Mater. 25, 2841–2849 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201500453
  14. Y. Zhang, T.-H. Chang, L. Jing, K. Li, H. Yang et al., Heterogeneous, 3D architecturing of 2D titanium carbide (MXene) for microdroplet manipulation and voice recognition. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 12, 8392–8402 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.9b18879
  15. W. Lin, C. Wei, S. Yu, Z. Chen, C. Zhang et al., Programmable and ultrasensitive haptic interfaces enabling closed-loop human–machine interactions. Adv. Funct. Mater. 33, 2305919 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202305919
  16. Y. Xu, Q. Fei, M. Page, G. Zhao, Y. Ling et al., Paper-based wearable electronics. iScience 24, 102736 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2021.102736
  17. Y. Zhang, T. Zhang, Z. Huang, J. Yang, A new class of electronic devices based on flexible porous substrates. Adv. Sci. 9, e2105084 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202105084
  18. Z. Liu, T. Zhu, J. Wang, Z. Zheng, Y. Li et al., Functionalized fiber-based strain sensors: pathway to next-generation wearable electronics. Nano-Micro Lett. 14, 61 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-022-00806-8
  19. L. Yang, H. Wang, W. Yuan, Y. Li, P. Gao et al., Wearable pressure sensors based on MXene/tissue papers for wireless human health monitoring. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 13, 60531–60543 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.1c22001
  20. D. Wang, D. Zhang, P. Li, Z. Yang, Q. Mi et al., Electrospinning of flexible Poly(vinyl alcohol)/MXene nanofiber-based humidity sensor self-powered by monolayer molybdenum diselenide piezoelectric nanogenerator. Nano-Micro Lett. 13, 57 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-020-00580-5
  21. T. Xu, Q. Song, K. Liu, H. Liu, J. Pan et al., Nanocellulose-assisted construction of multifunctional MXene-based aerogels with engineering biomimetic texture for pressure sensor and compressible electrode. Nano-Micro Lett. 15, 98 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-023-01073-x
  22. Z. Wang, J. Ding, R. Guo, Printable all-paper pressure sensors with high sensitivity and wide sensing range. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 15, 4789–4798 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.2c19100
  23. S.Y. An, B.T. McAllister, E. Grignon, S. Evariste, D.S. Seferos, Increasing ionic conductivity in polymer electrodes using oxanorbornene. EcoMat 4, e12178 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1002/eom2.12178
  24. L.-Q. Tao, K.-N. Zhang, H. Tian, Y. Liu, D.-Y. Wang et al., Graphene-paper pressure sensor for detecting human motions. ACS Nano 11, 8790–8795 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.7b02826
  25. Z. Ren, H. Zhang, N. Liu, D. Lei, Q. Zhang et al., Self-powered 2D nanofluidic graphene pressure sensor with Serosa-Mimetic structure. EcoMat 5, e12299 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1002/eom2.12299
  26. S. Chen, Y. Wang, L. Yang, F. Karouta, K. Sun, Electron-induced perpendicular graphene sheets embedded porous carbon film for flexible touch sensors. Nano-Micro Lett. 12, 136 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-020-00480-8
  27. R. Matsukawa, D. Kobayashi, H. Mitsui, T. Ikuno, Environment-friendly paper-based flexible pressure sensors with carbon nanotubes and liquid metal. Appl. Phys. Express 13, 027001 (2020). https://doi.org/10.7567/1882-0786/ab658b
  28. X. Sun, J. Sun, T. Li, S. Zheng, C. Wang et al., Flexible tactile electronic skin sensor with 3D force detection based on porous CNTs/PDMS nanocomposites. Nano-Micro Lett. 11, 57 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-019-0288-7
  29. B. Liang, Z. Zhang, W. Chen, D. Lu, L. Yang et al., Direct patterning of carbon nanotube via stamp contact printing process for stretchable and sensitive sensing devices. Nano-Micro Lett. 11, 92 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-019-0323-8
  30. L. Gao, C. Zhu, L. Li, C. Zhang, J. Liu et al., All paper-based flexible and wearable piezoresistive pressure sensor. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 11, 25034–25042 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.9b07465
  31. C. Wang, K. Xia, H. Wang, X. Liang, Z. Yin et al., Advanced carbon for flexible and wearable electronics. Adv. Mater. 31, 1801072 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201801072
  32. Z. Li, F. Chen, N. Zhu, L. Zhang, Z. Xie, Tip-enhanced sub-femtomolar steroid immunosensing via micropyramidal flexible conducting polymer electrodes for at-home monitoring of salivary sex hormones. ACS Nano 17, 21935–21946 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.3c08315
  33. I. Muguet, A. Maziz, F. Mathieu, L. Mazenq, G. Larrieu, Combining PEDOT: PSS polymer coating with metallic 3D nanowires electrodes to achieve high electrochemical performances for neuronal interfacing applications. Adv. Mater. 35, e2302472 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202302472
  34. Z. Wang, M. Tian, J. Yu, J. Jiao, C. Yang et al., Recent advances of 3D compressible carbon assemblies: a review of synthesis, properties and applications in energy and environment. J. Environ. Chem. Eng. 9, 106269 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2021.106269
  35. A.G. El-Shamy, Review on the recent advance in PEDOT: PSS/Carbonic fillers based nanocomposite for flexible thermoelectric devices and sensors. Mater. Today Phys. 35, 101101 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtphys.2023.101101
  36. X. Xie, R. Guo, B. Yang, H. Li, F. Yang et al., Stencil-printed electrodes without current collectors and inactive additives on textiles for in-plane microsupercapacitors. J. Mater. Chem. A 9, 25042–25050 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1039/d1ta07302h
  37. B. Yang, J. Chen, S. Lei, R. Guo, H. Li et al., Spontaneous growth of 3D framework carbon from sodium citrate for high energy- and power-density and long-life sodium-ion hybrid capacitors. Adv. Energy Mater. 8, 1702409 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.201702409
  38. R. Guo, Y. Yu, Z. Xie, X. Liu, X. Zhou et al., Matrix-assisted catalytic printing for the fabrication of multiscale, flexible, foldable, and stretchable metal conductors. Adv. Mater. 25, 3343–3350 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201301184
  39. J. Li, J. Cao, B. Lu, G. Gu, 3D-printed PEDOT: PSS for soft robotics. Nat. Rev. Mater. 8, 604–622 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-023-00587-5
  40. W. Cheng, Y. Liu, Z. Tong, Y. Zhu, K. Cao et al., Micro-interfacial polymerization of porous PEDOT for printable electronic devices. EcoMat 5, e12288 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1002/eom2.12288
  41. T. Su, N. Liu, D. Lei, L. Wang, Z. Ren et al., Flexible MXene/bacterial cellulose film sound detector based on piezoresistive sensing mechanism. ACS Nano 16, 8461–8471 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.2c03155
  42. Y. Zheng, R. Yin, Y. Zhao, H. Liu, D. Zhang et al., Conductive MXene/cotton fabric based pressure sensor with both high sensitivity and wide sensing range for human motion detection and E-skin. Chem. Eng. J. 420, 127720 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2020.127720
  43. M. Liu, X. Pu, C. Jiang, T. Liu, X. Huang et al., Large-area all-textile pressure sensors for monitoring human motion and physiological signals. Adv. Mater. 29, 1703700 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201703700
  44. S. Wang, X. Du, Y. Luo, S. Lin, M. Zhou et al., Hierarchical design of waterproof, highly sensitive, and wearable sensing electronics based on MXene-reinforced durable cotton fabrics. Chem. Eng. J. 408, 127363 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2020.127363
  45. G. Tian, K. Xu, Y. Huang, X. You, W. Yu et al., An organic/inorganic coating strategy that greatly enhanced sensing performances and reliability of all-fabric piezoresistive sensors. J. Mater. Chem. A 11, 21333–21344 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1039/d3ta03415a
  46. J.V. Vaghasiya, C.C. Mayorga-Martinez, J. Vyskočil, M. Pumera, Black phosphorous-based human-machine communication interface. Nat. Commun. 14, 2 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-34482-4
  47. Z. Yang, H. Li, S. Zhang, X. Lai, X. Zeng, Superhydrophobic MXene@carboxylated carbon nanotubes/carboxymethyl chitosan aerogel for piezoresistive pressure sensor. Chem. Eng. J. 425, 130462 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2021.130462
  48. M. Yang, Y. Cheng, Y. Yue, Y. Chen, H. Gao et al., High-performance flexible pressure sensor with a self-healing function for tactile feedback. Adv. Sci. 9, 2200507 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202200507
  49. S. Lee, S. Franklin, F.A. Hassani, T. Yokota, M.O.G. Nayeem et al., Nanomesh pressure sensor for monitoring finger manipulation without sensory interference. Science 370, 966–970 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abc9735
  50. K. Meng, X. Xiao, W. Wei, G. Chen, A. Nashalian et al., Wearable pressure sensors for pulse wave monitoring. Adv. Mater. 34, 2109357 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202109357
  51. C. Ozsancak, P. Auzou, K. Dujardin, N. Quinn, A. Destée, Orofacial apraxia in corticobasal degeneration, progressive supranuclear palsy, multiple system atrophy and Parkinson’s disease. J. Neurol. 251, 1317–1323 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-004-0530-0
  52. G. Khodabandelou, P.-G. Jung, Y. Amirat, S. Mohammed, Attention-based gated recurrent unit for gesture recognition. IEEE Trans. Autom. Sci. Eng. 18, 495–507 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1109/TASE.2020.3030852
  53. G. Tang, Q. Shi, Z. Zhang, T. He, Z. Sun et al., Hybridized wearable patch as a multi-parameter and multi-functional human-machine interface. Nano Energy 81, 105582 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2020.105582
  54. S.-D. Wu, S.-H. Hsu, B. Ketelsen, S.C. Bittinger, H. Schlicke et al., Fabrication of eco-friendly wearable strain sensor arrays via facile contact printing for healthcare applications. Small Meth. 7, 2300170 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1002/smtd.202300170
Read More
Author biographies are not available.
Statistic
Read Counter : 4500 Download : 3250

Most read articles by the same author(s)