A jet printing highly sensitive cotton/MWCNT fabric-based flexible capacitive sensor

Smart textiles provide the wearers with increased functionality such as sensing and reaction. The fabric-based flexible pressure sensors have attracted much attention as a key component to sense the pressure of the human body. However, existing flexible sensors have the disadvantages of complex preparation processes and low sensitivity. In this work, we report a method that combines microdrop jet technology and liquid phase reduction technology to fabricate fabric-based flexible capacitive sensors. The sensor electrodes are prepared by generating silver particles on the surface of cotton fabric based on redox and replacement reactions after sin-tering. Besides, the fabrics dipped with different concentrations of MWCNT solutions are also studied to improve the dielectric properties of cotton fabric. The result shows that the sheet resistance of the deposited silver electrode is 0.01 omega/sq, and the cotton/MWCNT fabric has excellent dielectric properties when the MWCNT solution is 2 wt%. The sensor has high sensitivity (-1.37 kPa  1), fast response (-50 ms), and excellent repeatability (>3000 cycles). Finally, the sensor is used for the bending angle test. The result shows the sensor has good response characteristics and demonstrates its potential for applications in healthcare, electronic skin, etc.

Automated summary

Smart textiles provide wearers with increased functionality, such as sensing and reaction. However, existing fabric-based flexible sensors have complex preparation processes and low sensitivity. This study reports a method combining microdrop jet technology and liquid phase reduction technology to fabricate fabric-based flexible capacitive sensors. The result shows that the sensor has high sensitivity, fast response, and excellent repeatability, demonstrating its potential for applications in healthcare, electronic skin, etc.