Hydrogen-Bond-Triggered Hybrid Nanofibrous Membrane-Based Wearable Pressure Sensor with Ultrahigh Sensitivity over a Broad Pressure Range

Recently, flexible capacitive pressure sensors have received significant attention in the field of wearable electronics. The high sensitivity over a wide linear range combined with long-term durability is a critical requirement for the fabrication of reliable pressure sensors for versatile applications. Herein, we propose a special approach to enhance the sensitivity and linearity range of a capacitive pressure sensor by fabricating a hybrid ionic nanofibrous membrane as a sensing layer composed of Ti3C2Tx MXene and an ionic salt of lithium sulfonamides in a poly(vinyl alcohol) elastomer matrix. The reversible ion pumping triggered by a hydrogen bond in the hybrid sensing layer leads to high sensitivities of 5.5 and 1.5 kPa(-1) in the wide linear ranges of 0-30 and 30-250 kPa, respectively, and a fast response time of 70.4 ms. In addition, the fabricated sensor exhibits a minimum detection limit of 2 Pa and high durability over 20 000 continuous cycles even under a high pressure of 45 kPa. These results indicate that the proposed sensor can be potentially used in mobile medical monitoring devices and next-generation artificial e-skin.

Automated summary

A novel method involving a hybrid ionic nanofibrous membrane sensing layer was proposed to enhance the sensitivity and linearity range of a capacitive pressure sensor. The sensor exhibited high sensitivity, short response time, and excellent durability, making it potentially useful for mobile medical monitoring devices and next-generation artificial e-skin.