Nanowires in Flexible Sensors: Structure is Becoming a Key in Controlling the Sensing Performance

Flexible sensors, as a kind of indispensable branch of flexible electronics, are garnering substantial in medical and industrial applications. Ever-evolving advances in nanowires in their myriad forms have fueled many of the developments in this field. However, recent researches have extensively focused on the intrinsic properties of these nanomaterials, rationally designed structures, which are pivotal in sensing performance, to a large extent, are undervalued. Hereon, the latest advances in the structure design, together with controlled fabrication of nanowires for better sensing performance are highlighted. In specific, nanowires are classified according to morphologies and hybrid forms and their corresponding fabrication methodologies and influence on sensing properties are briefly discussed. Then, construction strategies for nanowire-based sensors, including materials assembly and macroscopical design are systematically summarized. Subsequently, the characteristics and advantages of flexible sensors induced by various nanowires, including physical/physiological/multifunctional parameters sensing are reflected in the application examples. Finally, conclusions and challenges are presented for the development of nanowire-based flexible sensors, as well as frontier strategies especially bionic design. This review is aimed at providing a valuable and systematic understanding of nanowires in sensing system and then serves as inspiration for intelligent designs in flexible future electronics.

Automated summary

This article introduces the latest advances in the field of flexible sensors, focusing on the impact of structure design and fabrication methods of nanowires on sensing performance. It also summarizes the construction strategies and application examples of nanowire-based sensors, and presents the challenges and frontier strategies for development.