Facile fabrication of highly durable superhydrophobic strain sensors for subtle human motion detection

doi:10.1016/j.jmst.2021.08.081

Abstract

Abstract:

Endowing strain sensors with superhydrophobicity is of great importance to guarantee their long-term service under harsh environments (such as wet, acid, alkali and salt atmospheres), whereas, the development of superhydrophobic strain sensors remains a great challenge. Herein, we realized a superhydrophobic and highly sensitive sensor for subtle human motion detection by designing a superhydrophobic and electrically conductive coating on cotton textile, via a facile drop-coating method. The resultant strain sensor showed a large water contact angle of 161.3° and a low sliding angle of 3.8° The superhydrophobic characteristics can keep almost unchanged even after undergoing 1000 peeling cycles, 1000 stretching-release cycles, and 1000 bending-releasing cycles, revealing its excellent mechanical robustness. High sensitivity with the maximum gage factor of 169 was achieved for the strain sensor under a small strain of 0-10%, and the sensing performance also showed well durability. Moreover, our sensor can effectively detect various subtle human physiological signals and body motions even under harsh conditions. These admirable features make the sensor promising applications in wearable electronics, personalized health monitoring, sound recognition, and so on.

Key words: Strain sensors, Superhydrophobicity, High sensitivity Drop coating, Durable

Li-Chuan Jia, Chang-Ge Zhou, Kun Dai, Ding-Xiang Yan, Zhong-Ming Li. Facile fabrication of highly durable superhydrophobic strain sensors for subtle human motion detection[J]. J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2022, 110: 35-42.

Figures/Tables 6

Fig. 1. (a) Schematic diagram for the fabrication procedure of the SPC/cotton textile. (b-d) Surface SEM images of cotton textile. (e-g) Surface SEM images of SPC15.

Fig. 2. (a) The optical images of CA for pure cotton textile, SPC05, SPC15 and SPC25, respectively. (b) CA changes of pure cotton textile and the SPC/cotton textile with various SPC area densities. (c) Self-cleaning process of contaminants on the surface of SPC15. (d) The photograph of the peeling test with 3 M Scotch tape. (e) The photograph of water droplets on the SPC15 specimen after repeatedly peeling for 1000 cycles. (f-h) The photographs of water droplets on the SPC15 specimen at 10% strain, after stretching-release for 1000 cycles and after bending-release for 1000 cycles (2.0 mm bending radius), respectively. (i) CA changes of SPC15 before and after peeling for 1000 cycles, at 10% strain, after stretching-release for 1000 cycles and after bending-release for 1000 cycles, respectively.

Fig. 3. (a) Electrical conductivity of the SPC/cotton textile with various SPC area densities. The inset showing the ΔR/R0 changes of SPC15, SPC20 and SPC25 as a function of tensile strain. (b) ΔR/R0 changes of the SPC15 sensor with various terminal strains at a strain rate of 2 mm/min. (c) ΔR/R0 changes of the SPC15 sensor under a step increase and decrease strain at a strain rate of 2 mm/min. (d) ΔR/R0 changes of the SPC15 sensor at different tensile speeds with a terminal strain of 5%. (e) ΔR/R0 changes of the SPC15 sensor under stretching-release for 1000 cycles with a terminal strain of 5%. The insets showing the ΔR/R0 change curves from the red rectangle area.

Fig. 4. (a) Comparison of the GF of the SPC15 sensor under 0-10% strain with those of other reported strain sensors under small strains (< 20%). (b) Schematic diagram for the integration of superhydrophobicity on the SPC/cotton textile sensor.

Fig. 5. (a) SEM images of SPC15 at 0% strain. (b) SEM images of SPC15 at 10% strain. (c) SEM images of SPC15 after the strain being released back to 0%. (d-f) The corresponding magnified SEM images of (a-c). (g) Schematic illustration of the structure evolution for the SPC/cotton textile during one stretching-release cycle.

Fig. 6. (a) The response signals of SPC15 for detecting pulse. The insets were the photographs of the specimen attached at the wrist and the response signals from the brown region. (b) The response signals of SPC15 for detecting pronunciation of “Hi” and “Senor”. The inset was the photograph of the specimen attached on the throat. (c) The response signals of SPC15 for detecting facial expression. The insets were photographs of the specimen attached on the cheek. (d-f) The response signals of SPC15 for detecting human joint motions, including neck, wrist, and elbow. The insets showed the photographs of specimens during the corresponding motion states. (g) The response signals of SPC15 for detecting finger bending-releasing cycles at natural environment and after being immersed in water, acid, alkali and salt solutions, respectively. The insets showed the photographs of the specimen under the above test conditions.

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