J. Mater. Sci. Technol. ›› 2026, Vol. 259: 209-219.DOI: 10.1016/j.jmst.2025.07.057

• Research Article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

High-performance pressure sensors based on graphene fibers with bilateral dense structures for human motion monitoring

Yifan Zhia,1, Honghua Zhanga,1, Na Chengb, Ping Lia, Shi Penga, Meiying Heb, Qingqing Zhoub, Wen Wub, Wei Lia,c,*, Huanxia Zhangb,*   

  1. aShanghai Collaborative Innovation Center of High Performance Fibers and Composite, College of Textiles, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China;
    bCollege of Material and Textile Engineering, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing 314001, China;
    cEngineering Research Center of Technical Textile, Ministry Education, Shanghai 201620, China
  • Received:2025-05-01 Revised:2025-06-12 Accepted:2025-07-23 Published:2026-07-10 Online:2025-08-31
  • Contact: *E-mail addresses: liwei@dhu.edu.cn (W. Li), zhanghuanxia818@zjxu.edu.cn (H. Zhang).
  • About author:1These authors contributed equally to this work.

Abstract: Flexible pressure sensors have garnered significant attention in health monitoring and human-machine interaction due to their ability to precisely detect external pressure and conform to complex surfaces. However, the inherent trade-off among sensitivity, detection range, and mechanical stability severely restricts their performance enhancement and further development. In this study, wet spinning and substrate-assisted drying strategies were employed to tailor the morphology and structure of graphene fibers (GF), thereby optimizing the conductive network. As a result, dense ribbon-shaped GF with a high electrical conductivity of 3.19 × 104 S m-1, a tensile strength of up to 179.6 MPa, and a strain capability of 6.5 % were successfully prepared and employed as the sensing layer in flexible pressure sensors. The fabricated GF-based pressure sensor exhibited a high sensitivity of 30.79 kPa-1 in the range of 0-10 kPa and maintained a sensitivity of 15.59 kPa-1 even when the detection range was extended to 150 kPa. Moreover, it demonstrated rapid response/recovery characteristics (88 ms/72 ms) and excellent durability over 10,000 cycles. The sensor effectively detected subtle physiological signals, such as knuckle bending, wrist flexion, and pulse beating, highlighting its potential applications in health monitoring and smart wearable devices.

Key words: Graphene fibers, Wet spinning, Dense structure, Pressure sensor, Motion monitoring