Sustainable and Conductive Wood-Derived Carbon Framework for Stretchable Strain Sensors

Conductive carbon materials have recently received increasing interest for their potential applications in wearable electronics and electronic skins because of their adjustable structure and resistance. However, high cost, large energy consumption, and potential biological toxicity put a huge obstacle in the way of practical application in electronics. Bio-derived carbon, which possesses sustainability and low cost, is an ideal substitute for traditional carbon materials. Here, a facile and eco-friendly strategy is proposed to fabricate a lamellar wood-derived carbon framework with excellent electrical conductivity for stretchable strain sensors. The obtained carbonized delignified wood framework (CDWF) possesses higher conductivity (5.62 S cm(-1)), and larger specific surface area (35.42 m(2) g(-1)) as compared with carbonized wood framework (CWF). Moreover, the CDWF can be utilized to assemble a stretchable strain sensor by encapsulating it into polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The CDWF-based sensor exhibits favorable stretchability, stability, and durability (5000 cycles). The outstanding sensing properties of the sensors enable it to measure the joint movement of the human body accurately and continuously, showing good prospects for human physical monitoring and wearable devices applications.

Automated summary

This study proposes a simple and environmentally friendly strategy for fabricating stretchable strain sensors using bio-derived carbon materials, successfully obtaining a carbonized delignified wood framework with excellent electrical conductivity. The framework has higher conductivity and specific surface area, which can be utilized for assembling stretchable strain sensors with good stretchability, stability, and durability. The sensors exhibit outstanding sensing properties for accurately and continuously measuring human joint movement, showing great potential for human physical monitoring and wearable devices applications.